Tobacco mosaic virus, ribosenucleic acid

It seems probable that, as with desoxyribosenucleic acid, the size of the particles of ribosenucleic acid depends upon the treatment to which the acid has been subjected, the size being smaller when less mild methods of isolation are applied. Bawden and Pirie had pointed out that the size of the tobacco mosaic virus ribosenucleic acid particles is larger than that of the particles of yeast ribosenucleic acid as usually prepared. Loring has now found that purified, commercial yeast ribosenucleic acid solutions have about the same specific viscosity as have solutions of the alkali-treated ribosenucleic acid of tobacco mosaic virus hence, their molecular sizes are probably of the same order (about 15,000). 

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