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Effect of Temperature on the Multiplication of an Influenza Virus
Abstract
Summary
The temperature characteristic of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase induced after infection with fowl plague virus was determined. At temperatures below 34° the energy of activation in vitro was 16 kcal./mol. greater than above this temperature. The rate of synthesis of virus haemagglutinin and neuraminidase decreased rapidly below 34°. At low temperatures the activity of the virus RNA polymerase may be rate limiting for virus multiplication. At 41° the virus RNA polymerase was unstable in vitro as well as in vivo. The synthesis of virus haemagglutinin and neuraminidase, however, was unimpaired. At 44° virus subunits were not produced. The host cells withstood 44° without any irreversible harm during the time of the experiment. It is uncertain whether or not at elevated temperatures the activity of the viral RNA polymerase was also rate limiting.
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© Society for General Microbiology 1969