Paul Joseph Kaesberg

In 1956, Kaesberg and his colleagues studied staphylococcus bacteriophages via electron microscopy and found that freeze-dried particles and air-dried particles had significant morphological differences, specifically in size and shape. They were then able to classify the phages into two serological categories: large with flattened heads and long tails and smaller with long tails and circular heads. They noted that phages within the same class had structural similarities, and phages from different classes differed in structure.[6]

In 1955, Robert Rice and Kaesberg researched why the tobacco mosaic virus breaks apart after preservation via freeze-drying. Although they did not figure out what caused it specifically, their research allowed them to rule out several possibilities. They found that the act of freeze-drying did not cause the virus to break, as freeze-drying did not cause insulin fibrils or flagella to break.[7] In 1956, Kaesberg discovered a new virus shape, the icosahedral shape. After taking electron micrographs of the bromegrass mosaic virus and the yellow turnip mosaic virus under light shadowing and heavy shadowing, respectfully, Kaesberg was able to come up with an icosahedral model of the viruses.[8] This shape became the modern-day symbol for a virus because, after much more research, the icosahedral shape was one of the most commonly found virus shapes.[3] In 1958, Kaesberg and colleagues discovered a mosaic virus found in alfalfa creates three macromolecules after infecting a plant. Only one of the types of particles produced the virus, but all three had a similar bacillus-like shape and size. These particles looked nothing like the known spherical species of the alfalfa mosaic virus, so they discovered a new isolate in their work.[9] In 1964, Paul Kaesberg and a colleague studied the effects of pH changes on the bromegrass mosaic virus. They found that when the environment's pH is higher than 6.7, there is a decrease in the virus’ sedimentation coefficient. The coefficient goes back up if the pH goes below 6.7. An increase in pH also causes the virus’ intrinsic viscosity and diffusion coefficient to decrease. However, the radius of gyration increases with an increase in the environment's pH.[10]

In 1953, Kaesberg and a few colleagues used x-ray scattering to determine the size and hydration of three different viruses: the southern bean mosaic virus, the tomato bushy stunt virus, and the tobacco necrosis virus. All three of the viruses had a sphere-like shape and internal hydration. They differed, however, in their diameters, with the tobacco necrosis virus having a diameter of 280 angstroms, the southern bean virus having a diameter of 286 angstroms, and the tomato bushy stunt virus having the largest diameter of them all: 309 angstroms.[11] In 1954, Kaesberg and Paul Schmidt utilized small-angle X-ray scattering to measure the size of the yellow turnip mosaic virus and its associated protein. They found that both particles were almost spherical and the same size. They found that while the virus had a relatively constant electron density, the protein was a water-filled shell.[12] In 1963, Margaret Wright and Paul Kaesberg used x-ray scattering to learn more about the inside of the bromegrass mosaic virus. They discovered that the virus had a 260 angstroms diameter and an inner region with an 80-angstrom diameter. Negatively stained bromegrass viruses had a slightly larger internal diameter, about 90 angstroms. They saw that the internal region was almost wholly empty and that the RNA and protein within the virus had almost equal electron densities. However, they noticed something different in the positively stained viruses. These viruses have nucleic acids compacted into a shell formation enveloped by proteins. For the RNA and protein portions of these viruses to have equivalent electron densities, the RNA must have a significantly higher hydration ratio than the protein.[13]