Abstract
Action spectra for the inactivation of virus infectivity by u.v. irradiation have shown peaks predominantly at wavelengths from 260 to 265 nm. Such results have been obtained for viruses containing both RNA and DNA: plant viruses, e.g. tobacco mosaic virus (Hollaender & Duggar, 1936; Kleczkowski, 1963), tobacco necrosis virus (Kassanis & Kleczkowski, 1965) and potato virus X (Kleczkowski & Govier, 1969); bacteriophages, e.g. T 1 and T 2 (Zelle & Hollaender, 1954; Fluke, 1956), T4D (Winkler, Johns & Kellenberger, 1962) and M 5 (Franklin, Friedman & Setlow, 1953); and animal viruses, e.g. vaccinia (Rivers & Gates, 1928), Rous sarcoma virus (Sturm, Gates & Murphy, 1932) and influenza virus (Hollaender & Oliphant, 1944; Tamm & Fluke, 1950). Rauth (1965) also compared action spectra for several animal and bacterial viruses.