SEPARATION OF TOP AND BOTTOM COMPONENTS OF ALFALFA MOSAIC VIRUS BY COMBINED DIFFERENTIAL AND DENSITY GRADIENT CENTRIFUGATION

Top and bottom components of alfalfa mosaic virus have been separated by combined differential and density gradient centrifugation. Bottom component was obtained in a highly purified state. The advantage of the technique employed is that it allows one to obtain the two viral components in mg quantities. Straight fractionation from zones obtained in centrifuged density-gradient columns yielded relatively pure top-component, but bottom-component still contaminated with top-component and middle-component. Also, much greater effort was required to obtain high yields of either component if differential centrifugation was eliminated from the procedure. © 1969 Springer-Verlag.