The technique has now been applied to test the notion that it might allow the positive identification of BSE infections in sheep as well as cattle. A and B strains of scrapie. It is, therefore, still uncertain whether the current methods can be used to identify positively BSE should it occur in sheep. The concentration of RNA is such that all the genome segments are liquid crystals arranged in well-ordered layers surrounding what are thought likely to be the transcription complexes at the apices of the virus particles. The high level of organisation is essential if transcription is to be accurate.
Transcription takes place at high speed and involves all ten segments simultaneously.