Abstract
Recently a number of ultramicroscopic viruses of man and animals, and bacteriophage have been found, in general, to migrate to the anode under ordinary conditions of hydrogen ion concentration.
In the controlled experiments to be reported, a study was made of a typical virus of plants, namely that of mosaic disease in the tomato with the object of noting (a) the possible migration of a plant virus in an electrical field, (b) the direction of migration, and (c) any difference of behavior of unfiltered and filtered suspensions for a considerable amount of protein particles are removed from the latter.
The method of cataphoresis employed has already been described. 1 Tests were made at 4 m. a., 118-119 volts P.D., over a period of 3 hours. Suspensions of ground mosaic-infected leaves were prepared in G.P.A., 2 or in phosphate buffer solutions at pH = 5.3 to 8.5, with final dilutions of 1:300 to 500. Filtrates were obtained by single filtration through Berkefeld “N” candles. The anodic and cathodic materials were inoculated respectively into each of 5 to 10 normal tomato plants. The results are tabulated as follows:
It would appear, therefore, that mosaic virus or particles containing the virus migrate to the anode in an electrical field, at pH readings of 5.3 to 8.5. Thus this plant virus agrees in this respect with most viruses of mammalian origin and with bacteriophage. Filtration does not interfere with this property; the qualitative results are as clear cut as with unfiltered suspensions; the quantitative differences are probably due to the well-known factor of diminution of infective power after filtration of the mosaic virus. In a control test of filtrate inoculations, only 3 of 10 plants showed mosaic disease after about 11 days.
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