Antigenic Properties of Fixed and Unfixed Particles of Some Cucumber Mosaic Virus Strains

Abstract

The virus particle of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is unstable and degrades during and after virus preparation. For longterm storage, either 0.25% glutaraldehyde or 0.2% formaldehyde are used as protein cross-linking reagents for stabilising the antigenic binding sites of the viral protein. The glutaraldehyde effect on the stability of purified CMV strains preparation after longterm storage were investigated by serological reactions with either fixed and unfixed CMV antisera. These preparations were also analysed by sucroce density gradient centrifugation and ISCO density gradient fractionation, then by gel electrophoresis and by electron microscopy. During longterm storage (more than one year) some fixed and unfixed virus strains had degrade partially as shown by the appearance of double precipitine lines in gel immunodiffusion tests and the shape of absorbance peaks of ISCO density gradient fractionation. However, the degradation of virus particles was not apparent by electron microscopy. On the other hand, in agarose gel electrophoresis the virus particle of CMV strains produced pattern of mutiple bands that shown that virus was certainly degraded. It appeared that the fixed virus had faster mobility bands than unfixedvirus.