The Purification of Plant Viruses

Abstract

This chapter presents an outline on the purification of plant viruses and discusses the methods of purification. Appropriate steps toward purification are described in detail both for those viruses that have yet to be purified and for those that have already been obtained as relatively monodisperse suspensions but for which there is interest in securing the highest degree of purity possible. Although there are indications that nucleic acid obtained from plant viruses is infective by itself, the discussion is limited to methods used for the purification of so called intact virus particles. Most of the procedures employed in virus purification are known to result in the loss of infectivity of some of the virus particles. Nevertheless, a preparation is considered purified if it is infective and free of all detectable contaminants.