Tomesik & Szongott (1933) obtained a nitrogenous, polysaccharide-free, capsular material from BacillU anthracis which was identified by Ivanovics & Bruckner (1937a, b) as poly-D-glutamic acid. A capsule is formed by virulent strains of B. anthracis and appears to be connected with the aggressive aspect of virulence, that is, with the ability of the pathogen to interfere with the defence mechanisms

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SUMMARYVaccinia virus has been examined with the electron microscope by several techniques in conjunction with experimental modifications of structure. Negative staining revealed that over 80 yo of the virus in highly purified preparations were particles which appeared to have a beaded surface like a mulberry and were termed M forms. The beading was formed by loops of thread-like structures 9 0 6 wide which were themselves double helices formed from two 8oA strands coiled to a 1206 pitch.Twenty per cent or less of the particles appeared as larger more electrondense bodies with a capsule of complex structure; these have been termed C forms. Experimental interconversion of the two forms showed that both were structurally mature virus. The relationship of structures seen in C forms to those revealed by thin sectioning is considered. Experimental findings and the results of shadowing and replica examinations indicate the presence of a superficial protein layer of antigenic material not revealed by negative staining. The relationship of this layer to the structure of the virus and the nature of the ribbon structure of the M form are discussed.

3 different types of observation all demonstrated that B virus ( Herpesvirus simiae) infection of monkeys was not confined to the mouth but was also a genital infection. (1) Latent B virus was reactivated in a seropositive female monkey, which was immunosuppressed with antilymphocyte globulin, and infectious virus was excreted in the genital tract. (2) During an epizootic in a breeding colony, B virus was isolated from 4 genital and 3 oral sites as well as from a skin lesion. (3) In cultures of sensory nerve ganglia taken from seropositive monkeys, B virus was recovered more frequently from ganglia subserving the genital region than the oral region.

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