STABILITY AND STRUCTURAL TRANSITIONS OF TOMATO ASPERMY VIRUS AND CUCUMBER MOSAIC-VIRUS

The properties of the S-strain of cucumber mosaic virus (S-CMV) and the B-strain of tomato aspermy virus (B-TAV) were studied with respect to their size and sedimentation behavior, requirement of divalent metal ions for stability, sensitivity towards chloride salts and the anionic detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate, solubility in ammonium sulfate-containing buffers and pH-dependent structural transitions. Evidently, the coat protein of B-TAV is more hydrophobic than the other well-studied strains of TAV and CMV. Circular dichroism and UV absorption studies reveal pH-dependent structural transitions, although these do not result in particle swelling. These transitions appear to alter the strength of protein-nucleic acid interactions in these viruses.