Rapid Extraction of Intact Crystalline Inclusions from the Cells of Plants infected with Tobacco Mosaic Virus

Abstract

THE intracellular inclusions produced by different plant viruses vary in their stability and resistance to handling. In 1950, I extracted¹ intact inclusions formed by the viruses of cabbage black ringspot, cauliflower mosaic, severe etch, Hyoscyamus mosaic and tomato aucuba mosaic. All these inclusions are resistant to handling and are only slightly soluble in distilled water. On the other hand, the inclusions formed by tobacco mosaic virus, as shown by Sheffield², are very soluble in water and extremely fragile. In 1953, Steere and Williams³ devised a freeze-drying technique which enabled these intracellular inclusions to be removed from the cell intact and photographed in the electron microscope.