Abstract
Summary
Experiments performed to determine the effectiveness of adsorption-elution cycles of polyoma virus purification techniques indicated that an excess of 90% of the label in purified virus preparations is associated with virus. This was corroborated by isolating, and identifying the radioactive component of virus DNA as a thymidylic acid moiety. Experiments employing labeled polyoma virus as a tracer in primary METC cells have indicated that the virus was rapidly adsorbed by the cells since the maximum amount of radioactivity was found in the DNA fraction as early as 1 hr after infection. The virus remained associated with the DNA fraction of the cells and probably was not degraded as indicated by the consistent absence of radioactivity in the acid soluble fractions. Label from parental virus DNA was not found in progeny virus in detectable amounts. It would seem, therefore, that at the time of harvest parental DNA did not undergo encapsidation and become a member of the progeny population. The fate of parental DNA during and after maturation remains to be elucidated. Experiments employing BHK/21 cells yielded similar results in that the labeled DNA was adsorbed rapidly by the cells, probably was not degraded, and remained at a constant level throughout the first 18 hr after infection.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.