Temperature-induced structural stabilization of the encapsidated RNA of southern bean mosaic virus and its biologic significance.
Virions of southern bean mosaic virus (SBMV) show two distinct sensitivity patterns upon heating. Infectivity loss and capsid denaturation occur concurrently if virions are exposed at 50-55 degrees in 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.5, or 0.1 M glycine-phosphate buffer, pH 9.0. Contrastingly, virions are inactivated without any detectable capsid damage at 65-70 degrees in 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer, pH 6.0, 0.1 M Tris-HCI buffer, pH 7.5, or 0.1 M glycine-NaOH buffer, pH 9.0. Heat treatment causes no genomic degradation in these two situations; the divergent sensitivity of virions is due, apparently, to a differential thermal tolerance of the capsid protein to the buffer components and/or pH. SBMV-RNA isolated from virions inactivated at 65 degrees in 0.1 M Tris-HCl buffer, pH 7.5, possesses low infectivity (1-2%). Observations based upon sucrose gradient sedimentation, temperature: absorbance relationship, and sensitivity to ribonuclease T(1) suggest that such RNA is structurally more compact and stable relative to that of the RNA from the nonheated virions. Neither the capsid protein nor the genome protein plays a direct role in the temperature-induced structural stabilization of SBMV-RNA in situ. If treated with 8 M urea, 50% formamide or exposed at 55 degrees , the infectivity of RNA from the heat-inactivated SBMV is restored and is comparable to that of the RNA isolated from the nonheated virions. The observed mode of SBMV thermal inactivation, i.e., stabilization of RNA structure in situ, is unique among the viruses. Furthermore, these results suggest that the ability to initiate infection depends upon the secondary structure of the SBMV genome.