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Constituents of Viruses

Constituents of Viruses By C. A. KNIGHT The Virus Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California Interest in the nature of viruses is great not only because of their potential capacity to wreak havoc on almost all forms of living matter, but also owing to the apparent similarity of some viruses and genes, and the possible bearing that viruses may have on the fundamental nature of life itself. Certainly, viruses appear at present to be the simplest substances possessing attributes of life. Outstanding in this respect are some of the plant viruses, which have been demonstrated by Stanley and associates (1, 2) and by Bawden & Pirie (3, 4) to be solely nucleoprotein in composition. The chemical analysis of such nUcleoproteins assumes special significance, for unlike the case with more complex agents, such as bacteria, rickettsiae, or even many animal viruses, all of the biological activity of a simple plant virus can presumably be attributed to a single chemical compound, that is, to a specific nucleoprotein. However, the analyses of all viruses are important in establishing the nature of these disease agents. Moreover, it is to be expected that a thorough knowledge of the composition of viruses will aid, perhaps critically, in http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Annual Review of Microbiology Annual Reviews

Constituents of Viruses

Knight, C A
Annual Review of Microbiology , Volume 3 (1) – Oct 1, 1949
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Publisher
Annual Reviews
Copyright
Copyright 1949 Annual Reviews. All rights reserved
Subject
Review Articles
ISSN
0066-4227
eISSN
1545-3251
DOI
10.1146/annurev.mi.03.100149.001005
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

By C. A. KNIGHT The Virus Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California Interest in the nature of viruses is great not only because of their potential capacity to wreak havoc on almost all forms of living matter, but also owing to the apparent similarity of some viruses and genes, and the possible bearing that viruses may have on the fundamental nature of life itself. Certainly, viruses appear at present to be the simplest substances possessing attributes of life. Outstanding in this respect are some of the plant viruses, which have been demonstrated by Stanley and associates (1, 2) and by Bawden & Pirie (3, 4) to be solely nucleoprotein in composition. The chemical analysis of such nUcleoproteins assumes special significance, for unlike the case with more complex agents, such as bacteria, rickettsiae, or even many animal viruses, all of the biological activity of a simple plant virus can presumably be attributed to a single chemical compound, that is, to a specific nucleoprotein. However, the analyses of all viruses are important in establishing the nature of these disease agents. Moreover, it is to be expected that a thorough knowledge of the composition of viruses will aid, perhaps critically, in

Journal

Annual Review of Microbiology – Annual Reviews

Published: Oct 1, 1949

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