Search

A method which allows one to follow the synthesis of the major f1 coat protein in normal, unirradiated f1-infected cells is reported. The N-terminal tryptic peptide of this protein, labeled with (14)C-lysine, has a negative charge at pH 4.5 and is readily separated from the contaminating peptides of host cell proteins. This technique was used to study several aspects of the synthesis of the major f1 coat protein in infected cells.

Polyoma virus particles were purified by equilibrium centrifugation in CsCl. Particles from three regions of the density gradient were examined for infectivity, for their ability to induce expanded pools of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) precursors, and for their ability to stimulate the synthesis of DNA. The most infectious population of particles, the virions, having a buoyant density of 1.33 g/ml, gave the greatest stimulation of the DNA-synthesizing apparatus of mouse embryo cells. Empty particles at density 1.29 g/ml had no DNA stimulatory activity. A population of particles of intermediate density, referred to as pseudovirions, was also much less active than virions in stimulating DNA synthesis, and the limited stimulatory activity of the latter fraction may be accounted for by its measured contamination with infective particles.

Digestion of purified reovirus type 3 with chymotrypsin degrades 70% of the viral protein and converts the virions to subviral particles (SVP). The SVP contain 3 of the 6 viral structural proteins and all 10 double-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome segments but not adenine-rich, single-stranded RNA. An RNA polymerase which is structurally associated with SVP transcribes one strand of each genome segment by a conservative mechanism in vitro. The single-stranded products include large (1.2 x 10(6) daltons), medium (0.7 x 10(6) daltons), and small (0.4 x 10(6) daltons) molecules which hybridize exclusively with the corresponding genome segments. The enzyme obtained by heating virions at 60 C synthesizes similar products. Kinetic and pulse-chase studies indicate that the different-sized products are synthesized simultaneously but at rates which are in the order: small > medium > large.