Molecular Weight of Double-stranded RNA: a Re-examination of Aspergillus foetidus Virus S RNA Components

The mol. wt. of the three double-stranded RNA (ds-RNA) components of Aspergillus foetidus virus S have been re-determined by using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (a) of native ds-RNA with ds-RNA standards and (b) of denatured ds-RNA with single-stranded RNA standards. Good agreement between the two methods and confirmation that the relationship between log mol. wt. and electrophoretic mobility of ds-RNA is not linear were obtained. The new mol. wt. values (4·0 to 4·2 x 10⁶; 2·5 to 2·7 x 10⁶ and 0·26 to 0·28 x 10⁶, respectively) are significantly higher than those determined previously by linear extrapolation from reovirus ds-RNA standards.