A protein stain for the electron microscopy of small isometric plant virus particles

1968 ◽  
Vol 25 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 323-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.J. Hills ◽  
A. Plaskitt
Author(s):  
O. E. Bradfute

Electron microscopy is frequently used in preliminary diagnosis of plant virus diseases by surveying negatively stained preparations of crude extracts of leaf samples. A major limitation of this method is the time required to survey grids when the concentration of virus particles (VPs) is low. A rapid survey of grids for VPs is reported here; the method employs a low magnification, out-of-focus Search Mode similar to that used for low dose electron microscopy of radiation sensitive specimens. A higher magnification, in-focus Confirm Mode is used to photograph or confirm the detection of VPs. Setting up the Search Mode by obtaining an out-of-focus image of the specimen in diffraction (K. H. Downing and W. Chiu, private communications) and pre-aligning the image in Search Mode with the image in Confirm Mode facilitates rapid switching between Modes.


Author(s):  
R.W. Horne

The technique of surrounding virus particles with a neutralised electron dense stain was described at the Fourth International Congress on Electron Microscopy, Berlin 1958 (see Home & Brenner, 1960, p. 625). For many years the negative staining technique in one form or another, has been applied to a wide range of biological materials. However, the full potential of the method has only recently been explored following the development and applications of optical diffraction and computer image analytical techniques to electron micrographs (cf. De Hosier & Klug, 1968; Markham 1968; Crowther et al., 1970; Home & Markham, 1973; Klug & Berger, 1974; Crowther & Klug, 1975). These image processing procedures have allowed a more precise and quantitative approach to be made concerning the interpretation, measurement and reconstruction of repeating features in certain biological systems.


Author(s):  
Lee F. Ellis ◽  
Richard M. Van Frank ◽  
Walter J. Kleinschmidt

The extract from Penicillum stoliniferum, known as statolon, has been purified by density gradient centrifugation. These centrifuge fractions contained virus particles that are an interferon inducer in mice or in tissue culture. Highly purified preparations of these particles are difficult to enumerate by electron microscopy because of aggregation. Therefore a study of staining methods was undertaken.


Author(s):  
N. Savage ◽  
A. Hackett

A cell line, UC1-B, which was derived from Balb/3T3 cells, maintains the same morphological characteristics of the non-transformed parental culture, and shows no evidence of spontaneous virus production. Survey by electron microscopy shows that the cell line consists of spindle-shaped cells with no unusual features and no endogenous virus particles.UC1-B cells respond to Moloney leukemia virus (MLV) infection by a change in morphology and growth pattern which is typical of cells transformed by sarcoma virus. Electron microscopy shows that the cells are now variable in shape (rounded, rhomboid, and spindle), and each cell type has some microvilli. Virtually all (90%) of the cells show virus particles developing at the cell surface and within the cytoplasm. Maturing viruses, typical of the oncogenic viruses, are found along with atypical tubular forms in the same cell.


Author(s):  
Fred Eiserling ◽  
A. H. Doermann ◽  
Linde Boehner

The control of form or shape inheritance can be approached by studying the morphogenesis of bacterial viruses. Shape variants of bacteriophage T4 with altered protein shell (capsid) size and nucleic acid (DNA) content have been found by electron microscopy, and a mutant (E920g in gene 66) controlling head size has been described. This mutant produces short-headed particles which contain 2/3 the normal DNA content and which are non-viable when only one particle infects a cell (Fig. 1).We report here the isolation of a new mutant (191c) which also appears to be in gene 66 but at a site distinct from E920g. The most striking phenotype of the mutant is the production of about 10% of the phage yield as “giant” virus particles, from 3 to 8 times longer than normal phage (Fig. 2).


Author(s):  
Ruchama Baum ◽  
J.T. Seto

The ribonucleic acid (RNA) of paramyxoviruses has been characterized by biochemical and physiochemical methods. However, paramyxovirus RNA molecules have not been studied by electron microscopy. The molecular weights of these single-stranded viral RNA molecules are not known as yet. Since electron microscopy has been found to be useful for the characterization of single-stranded RNA, this investigation was initiated to examine the morphology and length measurements of paramyxovirus RNA's.Sendai virus Z strain and Newcastle disease virus (NDV), Milano strain, were used. For these studies it was necessary to develop a method of extracting RNA molecules from purified virus particles. Highly purified Sendai virus was treated with pronase (300 μg/ml) at 37°C for 30 minutes and the RNA extracted by the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-phenol procedure.


Author(s):  
O. E. Bradfute

Maize rayado fino virus (MRFV) causes a severe disease of corn (Zea mays) in many locations throughout the neotropics and as far north as southern U.S. MRFV particles detected by direct electron microscopy of negatively stained sap from infected leaves are not necessarily distinguishable from many other small isometric viruses infecting plants (Fig. 1).Immunosorbent trapping of virus particles on antibody-coated grids and the antibody coating or decoration of trapped virus particles, was used to confirm the identification of MRFV. Antiserum to MRFV was supplied by R. Gamez (Centro de Investigacion en Biologia Celular y Molecular, Universidad de Costa Rica, Ciudad Universitaria, Costa Rica).Virus particles, appearing as a continuous lawn, were trapped on grids coated with MRFV antiserum (Fig. 2-4). In contrast, virus particles were infrequently found on grids not exposed to antiserum or grids coated with normal rabbit serum (similar to Fig. 1). In Fig. 3, the appearance of the virus particles (isometric morphology, 30 nm diameter, stain penetration of some particles, and morphological subunits in other particles) is characteristic of negatively stained MRFV particles. Decoration or coating of these particles with MRFV antiserum confirms their identification as MRFV (Fig. 4).


PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. e0118096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jantipa Jobsri ◽  
Alex Allen ◽  
Deepa Rajagopal ◽  
Michael Shipton ◽  
Kostya Kanyuka ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priscila Belintani ◽  
José O. Gaspar

Cole latent virus (CoLV), genus Carlavirus, was studied by electron microscopy and biochemical approaches with respect both to the ultrastructure of the Chenopodium quinoa infected cells and to its association with chloroplasts. The CoLV was observed to be present as scattered particles interspersed with membranous vesicles and ribosomes or as dense masses of virus particles. These virus particles reacted by immunolabelling with a polyclonal antibody to CoLV. Morphologically, chloroplasts, mitochondria and nuclei appeared to be unaltered by virus infection and virus particles were not detected in these organelles. However, virus particle aggregates were frequently associated with the outer membrane of chloroplasts and occasionally with peroxisomes. Chloroplasts were purified by Percoll gradient, and the coat protein and virus-associated RNAs were extracted and analyzed by Western and Northern blots respectively. Coat protein and CoLV-associated RNAs were not detected within this organelle. The results presented in this work indicate that the association CoLV/chloroplasts, observed in the ultrastructural studies, might be a casual event in the host cell, and that the virus does not replicate inside the organelle.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document