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Physiology and Biochemistry

Isolation and Partial Characterization of Virus Inhibitors From Plant Species Taxonomically Related to Phytolacca. Salvatore Grasso, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616; Robert J. Shepherd, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616. Phytopathology 68:199-205. Accepted for publication 21 June 1977. Copyright © 1978 The American Phytopathological Society, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121. All rights reserved.. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-68-199.

A procedure was developed for obtaining a proteinaceous virus inhibitor from Phytolacca americana in an electrophoretically pure state. The final steps of the procedure involved adsorption to and elution from the cation exchange resin CM-Sephadex followed by passage through DEAE-Sephadex under nonadsorbing conditions. When the same procedure was applied to 14 other plant species reported to contain virus inhibitors, including several species of the order Centrospermae which is believed to be phylogenetically derived from the Phytolaccaceae, similar biologically active proteins were obtained in every case. However, in tests to evaluate further similarities only 2 of 8 species of the Centrospermae yielded substantial amounts of virus inhibitors that had the same molecular weight and were serologically related to the Phytolacca protein.