Infectivity of Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) from Type I Poliovirus in Embryonated Egg.

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Abstract
1) Phenol extraction of Type I poliovirus yielded a plaque-forming agent which is presumably ribonucleic acid (RNA) because it is inactivated by RNAase. Such ribonucleic acid derived from Type I (Mahoney) poliovirus induces formation of plaque-forming agent in the embryonated egg, inoculated by amniotic route. The plaqueforming agent recovered from embryo tissue, sacs, and fluids has been identified as type specific, Type I poliovirus. Highest yields occurred at 6 to 8 hours after inoculation of eggs with polio-RNA. 2) Polio-RNA exposed to RNAase immediately before inoculation into embryonated eggs failed to incite formation of plaque-forming agent. This establishes that it is RNA itself, and not some undetectable trace of intact virus, which incites production of whole virus in the egg. 3) Propagation of virus recovered from eggs by further passage in embryonated egg have not succeeded. 4) This demonstration of production of Type I poliovirus from nucleic acid in the embryonated egg, without subsequent multiplication, provides a system for biochemical study of genesis of whole virus from its nucleic acid. An advantage of the system is that the inciting agent (infectious RNA) can be differentiated completely, by its susceptibility to the action of RNAase, from whole virus progeny.