Abstract
ELECTRON micrographs of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), when stained by uranyl acetate or lead hydroxide, revealed the presence of an envelope surrounding an aggregate of several heavily staining spheroidal particles1. The envelopes stain only lightly with these reagents, suggesting that the envelopes contained lipid. Accordingly, a purified preparation of the virus was examined to test this hypothesis. By direct extraction with organic solvents the preparation was shown to contain about 20 per cent extractable lipid. Thin-layer chromatography of these extracts revealed a number of spots which gave a blue colour when treated with a molybdenum-based stain2. Although lipid has long been known to form part of some animal viruses there is no record of the presence of a lipid in a plant virus.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Best, Rupert J., and Palk, Brian A., Virology (in the press).
Wagner, H., Horhamm, L., and Wolff, P., Biochem. Z., 334, 175 (1961).
Thomas, R. S., Virology, 14, 240 (1961).
Schaffer, F. L., Grunbaum, B. W., and Kirk, P. L., Archiv. Biochem. Biophys., 50, 188 (1954).
Kates, M., and Eberhardt, F. M., Canad. J. Bot., 35, 895 (1957).
Müldner, H. G., Wherrett, J. R., and Cummings, J. N., J. Neurochem., 9, 607 (1962).
Bald, J. G., and Samuel, Geoffrey, C.S.I.R.O. (Australia), Bull. 54 (1931).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
BEST, R., KATEKAR, G. Lipid in a Purified Preparation of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus. Nature 203, 671–672 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/203671b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/203671b0
This article is cited by
-
Purification and serological analysis of tomato spotted wilt virus
Netherlands Journal of Plant Pathology (1977)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.