Property of Viral Nucleic Acid from the Virus Causing the Trembling disease in Eriocheir sinensis

In this paper we reported the electron microscope(EM) examination of “Trembling disease” virus in Eriocheir sinensis. The virions were globular, with envelope and spikes, and about 150nm of diameter. The purified nucleic acid was treated with 8mol/L urea and the viral nucleic acid was transferred to the EM grids by aqueous technique. The viral nucleic acid was single stranded under EM observation. The molecular weight of the viral nucleic was calculated to be about 5.05×106. The agrosegel electrophoresis of the purified viral nucleic acid showed only one band, with the size of about 15~16kb. The nucleic acid was sensitive to RNase and Mung Bean Nuclease treatment, but not sensitive to Dnase I. The above data demonstrated that the nucleic acid should be a ssRNA.