Full text loading...
Abstract
SUMMARY: Phospholipase A (100 µg./ml.) acting at 37° for 30 min. decreased the infective titre of crude or purified Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) virus from 7 or 8 log to less than 1 log. This inactivated virus yielded 2 log of infective ‘ ribonucleic acid ’ (‘RNA’) when it was treated with phenol. Ether, chloroform or butanol acting at 0–4° each decreased the infectivity of crude or purified MVE virus. Again the inactivated virus yielded ‘RNA’ with an infective titre higher than the titre of the inactivated virus. Infective ‘RNA’ prepared from crude MVE virus was not inactivated by ether, chloroform or butanol. High concentrations of phospholipase A preparations destroyed ‘RNA’, possibly due to traces of contaminating ribo-nuclease. The results suggest that intact viral phospholipid is necessary for infectivity of the virus particle.
- Received:
- Published Online: