VIEW ARTICLE

The Composition of Tomato Bushy Stunt Virus from Prunus avium. J. H. Tremaine, Research Scientist, Canada Department of Agriculture, Research Station, 6660 N.W. Marine Drive, Vancouver 8, British Columbia. Phytopathology 60:454-456. Accepted for publication 7 October 1969. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-60-454.

The composition of two strains of tomato bushy stunt virus, the type strain (TBSV-T) and one isolated from Windsor sweet cherry (TBSV-P), was 17% RNA and 83% protein based on analyses of recovered nucleotides and amino acids. The molar percentages of the nucleotides in the RNA of TBSV-P were 27% adenylic acid, 28% guanylic acid, 20% cytidylic acid, and 25% uridylic acid; these were not significantly different from the values for TBSV-T. Consideration of the size, structure, and aminoacid analyses of TBSV indicated that the virus protein subunit was composed of approximately 290 amino-acid residues. The amino-acid compositions of the two strains were similar, and differences between them represented only seven amino acid exchanges. However, the serological properties of the two strains differed greatly. The significance of this apparent anomaly is discussed.