Abstract
Mild alkaline treatment induces the formation of a specific RNA complex inside turnip yellow mosaic virus. Dialysis at pH 4.5 destroys this complex inside the capsid, but does not destroy complexes that have been removed from their capsids. These facts were interpreted in terms of a breakage and subsequent re-formation of RNA-protein links. In combination with supporting potentiometric data, they suggest histidinyl-phosphate salt links or carboxylate-amino hydrogen bonds, or both, as the principal means of association of turnip yellow mosaic virus protein and RNA.