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Published March 1, 1959 | public
Journal Article Open

Biophysical Studies of Infectious Ribonucleic Acid from Tobacco Mosaic Virus

Abstract

Following the brilliant discovery by Fraenkel-Conrat [1] and by Gierer and Schramm [2,3] of the infectivity of the ribonucleic acid (RNA) of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), considerable attention has been devoted to this material. However, a number of important questions persist. It is known that this material is unstable both with respect to its physical properties [4] and to its infectivity. The origin of this instability is as yet obscure. The nature of the products of the instability has not been carefully investigated. Conflicting reports [5-8] have been issued with respect to the possibility that fragments smaller than the intact RNA of the virus can retain biological activity. The low specific infectivity of the viral RNA continues to leave open the question as to whether the infectivity may reside in a minor, special component of the preparation or whether the bulk of the preparation is, at least potentially, infective [9].

Additional Information

Copyright © 1959 by the National Academy of Sciences. The research reported in this paper was supported by grants from the American Cancer Society, the U.S. Public Health Service, and the California Division of the American Cancer Society.

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Created:
August 21, 2023
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October 16, 2023