Changes in Cellular Ribonucleic Acid during Growth of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus in Chick Cell Culture

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Abstract
SUMMARY: The nuclei and small-particle (mitochondria + microsomes) fractions, separated from 510in vitro cultured chick embryo cells during one-step growth of vesicular stomatitis virus, were fractionated into RNA nucleotides by NaCl extraction, hydrolysis and paper electrophoresis. This allowed determination of molar and specific activity ratios of the RNA nucleotides during complementary 32P ‘gain’ and ‘loss’ experiments. Early exponential virus release coincided with a significant increase in uridine content of nuclear and small-particle RNA over uninfected values, and a decrease in specific activity of small-particle RNA uridylic acid in 32P gain experiments. Other fractions showed no change. This suggested a relatively large synthesis of an RNA different from cellular RNA and containing a high proportion of uridine at a time when virus nucleic acid synthesis was probably at its peak. This synthesis appeared to be balanced by a simultaneous breakdown of preexisting RNA.