DOUBLE-STRANDED RNA FROM TOBACCO LEAVES INFECTED WITH TMV

Abstract
Tobacco leaves systemically infected with TMV contain elements which are nuclease-resistant, alkali-labile, and are capable, after suitable dissociation and annealing, of conferring ribonuclease resistance upon P32-labeled TMV-RNA. The latter property is specific for TMV-RNA, and identifies the protective elements as RNA strands containing nucleotide sequences complementary to those in TMV-RNA, and which prior to dissociation were contained in double-stranded forms. The infected cells studied contain from 102 to 103 viral equivalents of doublestranded RNA, or one per 103 mature virus particles.