Re infectivity of naked viral DNA

[Ulrich Melcher]

I have not traced this thread back to the beginning.
So I am not sure what the issue is.
However, I know that naked DNA is infectious in at least some
situations.  We have for years been extracting the circular
double-stranded DNA from cauliflower mosaic virus, mixing it
with a little abrasive and rubbing it on the leaves of turnip
plants.  The plants regularly become infected.  This seems
pretty close to "in vivo" to me, though we do not use the
natural aphid vector in this process.

SOMERS at PICARD.EVMS.EDU wrote:
>
>The recent posting citing the article in Science 259:1745-49 as evidence
>for infectivity of naked viral DNA does not demonstrate viral DNA infectivity.
>Rather, if this is the paper I think it is (sorry I didnt look it up), the
>paper reports the use of viral cDNA inserted into a plasmid vector and then
>injected intramuscularly into an animal as a way to induce an immune response.
>In this case the so called polynucleotide vaccine induced protection against
>influenza.  This approach has been used in other systems as well.  This is
>not the same as demonstration of infectivity of naked viral DNA in vivo.  
>There is no evidence that the plasmid DNA with the influenza insert is
>replicating in vivo; only expressing the inserted influenza cDNA.
>
>Ken

Ulrich Melcher
Biochem & Mol Biol
Oklahoma Stat Univ