The Effect of Temperature on the Synthesis of Rhinovirus Type 2 RNA

The reduced yields of rhinovirus type 2 at temperatures above 37 °C were shown to result from the degradation of virus-induced RNA, leaving little RNA available for inclusion into mature infectious virions. The degradation occurred about 6 h p.i., and appeared to be selectively effecting the single-stranded species. Lysosomal nucleases do not appear to have a role in this supra-optimal degradation.

^* Present address: Department of Microbiology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT.

^† Present address: Institute for Research on Animal Disease, Compton, Newbury, Berks.

^‡ Present address: Department of Surgery, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.