Abstract
Summary: An infectious RNA was extracted from mouse brains infected with Theiler's mouse encephalomyelitis virus (GDVII strain). The yield of infectious RNA from heated virus was compared to that from u.v. irradiated virus material and at the same time, the stability of the hemagglutinating activity of the virus with respect to heat and u.v. irradiation was investigated. The results obtained suggest that inactivation of virus by heat is due, in large part, to denaturation of virus protein whereas inactivation by u.v. irradiation is due to destruction of viral RNA without denaturation of protein.