question: Mouse hepatitis (MH) virus was grown in SR-CDF1-DBT, a mouse cell line, and purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and by density gradient centrifugation. Extraction of RNA from purified virions with 1% SDS and sedimentation analysis of the RNA revealed a major 50S component and two minor components. Treatment of virions with phenol/chloroform also produced the 50S component, although its yield was lower. MH virion RNA can bind to a poly(U)-fiberglass filter, indicating that MH virion RNA contains poly(A). A poly(A)-like fragment was isolated by digestion with ribonuclease A [EC 3.1.4.22] and T1 [EC 3.1.4.8] and by DEAE-Sephadex column chromatography. Analysis of the fragment for base composition showed it to be an adenine-rich material. Its chain length was about 90 nucleotides, as determined by ion-exchange chromatography and gel electrophoresis.