A correlative study by electron and light microscopy of the development of type 5 adenovirus. I. Electron microscopy.

Stages in the nuclear changes consequent to infection with type 5 adenovirus are shown and described. Viral development seems to be confined to the nucleus where characteristic particles are found. The shape of the intracellular virus depends upon the method of preservation employed, appearing spherical after osmium tetroxide or freezing-substitution, occasionally exhibiting angulated faces after formalin and often assuming an hexagonal profile after potassium permanganate. The non-viral crystals are encountered in zones of low density, and it is suggested that crystallization results from the accumulation of protein in these areas. An hypothesis is presented to explain why these crystals, in contrast to the insect polyhedra, contain few viral particles.