MONKEY B-LYMPHOTROPIC PAPOVAVIRUS GENOME: THE ENTIRE DNA SEQUENCE AND VARIABLE REGIONS

Abstract

DNA from monkey B-lymphotropic papovavirus (LPV) adapted to growth in human B-lymphoblastoid cell line BJA-B consisted of three classes of molecules of 5.1, 5.0, and 4.9 kilobases (kb), and the entire DNA sequence of 5.1-kb molecule was determined. The three types of LPV DNA yielded infectious virus upon transfection to BJA-B cells. Comparison of the structures among these clones and clone K38 sequenced by Pawlita et al. (1985) suggests that the transcriptional control region, the small-T antigen gene, and the VP-1 gene are variable in the LPV genome, and that the 5.0-kb LPV resembles the parent virus, from which all the others had evolved by duplication and deletion during passages in BJA-B cells, probably for adaptation to better growth in human cells.