The nucleic acid and carbohydrate content of influenza virus A and of virus fractions produced by ether disintegration

Abstract

The preparation of purified influenza virus from infected allantoic fluid is described, and its fractionation by ether treatment with the production of pure samples of soluble antigen and haemagglutinin.Chemical analysis of intact infective virus showed it to have a nitrogen content of 9.3%, a carbohydrate content of 3.5%, and a content of ribonucleic acid of 0.7–0.74%.Purified soluble antigen derived from the infective virus particle was shown to be a ribonucleoprotein containing 5.3% RNA. No carbohydrate other than ribose was found. Purified haemagglutinin was shown to be a mucoprotein containing 4.2% of a polysaccharide possibly composed of galactose and mannose in equimolar proportions.

Physical and Biological Properties of Influenza Virus Components Obtained After Ether Treatment

“…The description given of the morphologic, physical, and biologic properties of the subunits obtained after ether fractionation of these prototype strains of type A influenza viruses represents a comprehensive effort towards investigating their basic relationships. Taken together with the results of other studies on fractionation with ether of influenza and of fowl plague virus (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18), they are interpreted as follows: influenza A viruses possess a lipid-containing surface which is disrupted by ether yielding at least two well defined subunits. The one, called hemagglutinin is a spherical particle about 30 m# in diameter.…”

The use of influenza virus labelled with radio-sulpher in studies of the early stages of the interaction of virus with the host cell

“…DISCUSSION Chemical analysis of purified D.S.P. virus (Frisch-Niggemeyer & Hoyle, 1956) showed it to contain 34% lipid, 3-5 % carbohydrate, 0-74 ribonucleic acid (R.N.A.) and 62, °/ 0 "protein.…”

Comprehensive Virology

“…Twenty years later, there is still uncertainty about the total weight of the viral RNA genome. Early estimates based on chemical composition gave a result of about 2.0 x 10 6 daltons per particle (Frisch-Niggemeyer and Hoyle, 1956), whereas more recent estimates based on analysis of RNA by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis yielded values in the range of 4-5 x 10 6 daltons (Skehel, 1971a;Lewandowski et al, 1971). If the virion contains the genetic information to code for all of the structural polypeptides and virus-specific non-structural polypeptides, a genome of at least 4 x 10 6 daltons is required.…”