Physio-chemical and morphological characteristics of avian encephalomyelitis virus

Avian encephalomyelitis virus (AEV) was purified from infected chick embryos by a gradient centrifugation in cesium chloride. The virus had a buoyant density of 1.31 to 1.32 g/ml and a sedimentation coefficient of 148 S. The purified AEV was resistant to treatments with chloroform, acid pH or trypsin. The presence of Mg++ stabilized the virus against heat inactivation (56°C, 1 h). Electron microscopic study showed the virus to be 24 to 32 nm in diameter. The surface structure of the purified virus was not easily discernable. Nevertheless, with uranyl acetate-stained particles, Markham's rotation technique revealed that AEV has five-fold symmetry with 32 or 42 capsomers. Exact classification of AEV awaits characterization of the viral nucleic acid.