Some Effects of pH, Salt, Urea, Ethanediol and Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate on Tobacco Necrosis Virus

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Abstract
The sedimentation coefficients of tobacco necrosis virus strain D (TNVD) in sodium phosphate at pH 5 and 7 are 104S and 97S, respectively. The change in sedimentation coefficient between pH 5 and 7 is fully reversible and the decrease on transfer to pH 7 is unaffected by the presence of Mg2+. TNVD is disrupted by Bacillus subtilis protease at pH 7.5 but not at pH 5; RNase neither disrupts virions nor destroys the infectivity of TNVD at pH 7.5 or 5. Virions are markedly unstable at alkaline pH but the effectiveness with which different buffers dissociate TNVD varies. Virus is largely resistant to dissociation by 1 M NaCl, 1 M urea, 10 M ethanediol and 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at or below pH 6 and is largely susceptible to dissociation by these agents at or above pH 7. Apparently, as the pH is lowered, some non-covalent bonds important for virion stability may be formed and/or some electronic repellent interactions causing virion instability may be weakened.