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A history of the photochemistry of the first known virus is presented. Hollaender and Duggar recognized that the virus contains nucleic acid because of the shape of their action spectrum for photoinactivation. An analysis of this spectrum in detail presents a challenge to photochemists because of the combined role of protein and nucleic acid in determining rates of inactivation. At present these rates can not be explained simply on the basis of the photochemistry of each of the constituents; that is, the photochemistry of free infectious nucleic acid differs in several respects from that exhibited by nucleic acid irradiated in intact virus. At present it is believed that pyrimidine hydrate and dimer formations are important, but an explicit solution to the problem is not in sight.
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Angus McLaren (1968) studied this question.
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