Separation of extracellular virions from core particles by CsCl gradient. Virions and core particles were first concentrated from culture supernatant by centrifugation through 10 and 20% sucrose. Next, the two types of particles were separated by centrifugation through a CsCl gradient. Thirteen or 14 fractions were collected from the top, weighed, and dialyzed. DNA was extracted from fractions 5 to 12 and analyzed by Southern blotting using pooled samples (fractions 5+6, 7+8, 9+10, and 11+12). (A) Southern blots showing efficient virion secretion by the N17 and N38 constructs but not the other four constructs. Irrespective of the constructs used, double-stranded DNA is always associated with Dane particles (fractions 5 to 8), while single-stranded DNA is present in core particles (fractions 9 to 12). (B) Buoyant densities of these fractions.