Early Events in Poliovirus Infection

Among the most notable contributions to modern biology has been the elucidation of the early events in bacteriophage infection which prepare the bacterial cell to make phage DNA and protein (Flaks et al., 1959; Kornberg et al., 1959; Aposhian and Kornberg, 1962). This remarkable work has demonstrated the destruction of host cell DNA (Luria, 1958) and a resulting paralysis of macromolecular synthesis under the direction of the cell. The phage DNA then directs the synthesis of new enzymes necessary for the formation of more phage DNA. The translation of phage genetic information into protein occurs by way of “messenger” RNA (Volkin and Astrachan, 1956; Astrachan and Volkin, 1958; Spiegelman, 1961; Brenner et al., 1961). Thus, in this instance, details of the mode of action of a foreign viral genome in a cell are fairly complete.