Chemical studies on polyoma and Shope papilloma viruses

Polyoma and Shope papilloma viruses were purified and analyzed by chemical and physical methods. Disc electrophoresis of degraded virions indicated the presence, in both cases, of only one major species of polypeptide subunit. The weight of the peptide chain of polyoma virus was estimated in 8 m urea to be about 45,000 avograms, based on the sedimentation rate in a sucrose-urea gradient and the diffusion coefficient estimated from the differential migration in electrophoresis in gels of different pore size. The presence of a minor peptide of smaller size was suggested by carboxyl-terminal and sedimentation analyses. The amino acid composition of polyoma capsid protein was reported. Chemical analyses showed that polyoma virus and Shope papilloma virus contained 16 and 17.5% deoxyribonucleic acid, respectively. Light scattering by the polyoma virion showed it to have a molecular weight of 22 x 10(6) and a diameter of 54 nm.