Purified poliovirus preparations were heated and analysed by sucrose gradient centrifugation. They consisted of virus-like particles containing RNA and sedimenting at about 80s, empty 80s capsids, 35s virus RNA, and a non-sedimentable capsid polypeptide (VP 4). By electron microscopy the 80s ribonucleoprotein particles (80s RNP) were similar in appearance to intact poliovirus particles. They contained infectious, RNase-sensitive RNA that could be liberated from the capsid by treatment at room temperature with 1% sodium dodecyl sulphate. One of the virus polypeptides was missing, and they had lost the antigenicity of the mature virus and the ability to adsorb to HeLa cells.
Degradation of poliovirus particles probably occurs in two steps: the first is the splitting off of a minor part of the capsid protein (VP 4) followed under certain conditions by a liberation of the RNA from the capsid. The alteration of the physical and biological properties of the virus particle is probably due to the loss of the protein rather than to the liberation of the RNA.
DreesO.,
BornaCH.1965; Ueber die Spaltung physikalisch intakter Poliovirus-Teilchen in Nucleinsgure und leere Proteinhiillen durch Wäirmebehandlung.. Zeitsehrift fiir Natmforschung 20b:870
GrahamA. F.,
BornaCH.1959; Symposium on the Biology of cells modified by viruses or antigens. III. Physiological conditions for studies of viral biosynthesis in mammalian cells.. Bacteriological Reviews 23:224
GrahamA. F.1959; Symposium on the Biology of cells modified by viruses or antigens. III. Physiological conditions for studies of viral biosynthesis in mammalian cells.. Bacteriological Reviews 23:224
HummelerK.,
TumilowiczJ. J.1960; Studies on the complement-fixing antigens of poliomyelitis: II. Preparation of type-specific anti-N and anti-H indicator sera.. Journal of Immunology 84:630
KochG.,
QuintrellN.,
BishopJ. M.1966; An agar cell-suspension plaque assay for isolated viral RNA.. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 24:304
LevintowL.,
DarnellJ. E.1960; A simplified procedure for purification of large amounts of poliovirus: Characterization and amino acid analysis of type I poliovirus.. Journal of Biological Chemistry 335:70
MaizelJ. V.,
PhilipsB. A.,
SummersD. F.1967; Composition of artificially produced and naturally occurring empty capsids of poliovirus type I.. Virology 32:692
MayerM. M.,
RappH. J.,
RoizmanB.,
KleinS. W.,
CowanK. M.,
LukensD.,
SchweerdtC. E.,
SchafferF. L.,
CharneyJ.1957; The purification of poliomyelitis virus as studied by complement fixation.. Journal of Immunology 78:435
OuchterlonyO.1948; In vitro method for testing the toxin producing capacity of diphtheria bacilli.. Acta pathologica et microbiologica scandinavica 25:186
RobertsJ. W.,
Argetsinger SteitzJ. E.1967; The reconstitution of infective bacteriophage R l7.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 58:1416
RossomandoJ. W.,
ZinderN. D.1968; Studies on the bacteriophage ft. I: Alkali-induced disassembly of the phage into DNA and protein.. Journal of Molecular Biology 36:387
SchwerdtC. E.,
SCHAFFERF. L.1955; Some physical and chemical properties of purified poliomyelitis virus preparations.. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 61:740
SpirinA. S.,
BelitslnaN. V.,
LermanM. I.1965; Use of formaldehyde fixation for studies of ribonucleo-protein particles by caesium chloride density-gradient centrifugation.. Journal of Molecular Biology 14:611
SugiyamaT.,
HebertR. R.,
HartmannK. A.1967; Ribonucleoprotein complexes formed between bacteriophage MS2 RNA and MS2 protein in vitro. Journal of Molecular Biology 25:455
SummersD. F.,
MaizelJ. V.,
DarnellJ. E.1965; Evidence for virus-specific noncapsid proteins in poliovirus-infected HeLa cells.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 54:505