Bahr G F, Foster W D, Peters D, Zeitler E H
Biophys J. 1980 Feb;29(2):305-14. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(80)85134-4.
The dry mass of individual vaccinia virions, as an example of a presumably uniform biological population, prepared in different lost at the Institute for Tropical Hygiene in Hamburg, was tested for variability by quantitative electron microscopy. A value of 5.26 X 10(-15) g for the median weight of the particle was calculated from 7,300 determinations. By assessing the variability of polystyrene latex spheres, which were used as mass standards, we demonstrated that the variability of dry mass of vaccinia virions is fivefold greater than the variability (standard) introduced by the method for determining mass. It was concluded that while genetic control in a presumably homozygous virion is strict with respect to quality, quantity of viral components (other than DNA) varies in fashion that can be aptly described by a log-normal distribution. It is recognized that this observation is empirically supported by the paradigm that any composite biological entity is subject to quantitative variability, the more so the heavier the individual representatives of a species are. In addition, the effects that extractions and staining have on the dry mass of vaccinia are reported, as well as is the median for the dry mass of other strains of pox viruses.
以在汉堡热带卫生研究所制备的、可能具有均匀生物学特性的单个痘苗病毒粒子为例，通过定量电子显微镜对其干质量的变异性进行了检测。从7300次测定中计算出粒子的中位重量值为5.26×10⁻¹⁵克。通过评估用作质量标准的聚苯乙烯乳胶球的变异性，我们证明痘苗病毒粒子干质量的变异性比质量测定方法引入的变异性（标准）大五倍。得出的结论是，虽然在假定为纯合的病毒粒子中，基因控制在质量方面很严格，但病毒成分（DNA除外）的数量以对数正态分布的方式变化。人们认识到，这一观察结果得到了以下范式的经验支持：任何复合生物实体都存在定量变异性，一个物种的个体代表越重，变异性就越大。此外，还报告了提取和染色对痘苗干质量的影响，以及其他痘病毒株干质量的中位数。
