Open AccessSynthesis of Virus DNA and Polypeptides by Temperature-sensitive Mutants of Rabbitpox Virus
Author(s) -
Jeffrey R. Lake,
Penny Cooper
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
journal of general virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.55
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1465-2099
pISSN - 0022-1317
DOI - 10.1099/0022-1317-47-2-243
Subject(s) - biology , mutant , microbiology and biotechnology , dna , virus , dna synthesis , gel electrophoresis , cleavage (geology) , thymidine , polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis , biochemistry , virology , gene , enzyme , paleontology , fracture (geology)
Eighteen temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of rabbitpox virus were examined for defects in synthesis of DNA and protein. Two mutants (ts-3 and ts-16) were defective in DNA synthesis (DNA-), since both incorporated significantly less than wild-type amounts of labelled thymidine into acid-precipitable material when infected cells were incubated at the restrictive temperature. Both these mutants gave only the 'early' class of virus polypeptides when infected cell extracts were examined by SDS--polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis following incubation at 40 degrees C. Nine of the remaining sixteen DNA+ ts mutants (ts-1, ts-2, ts-6, ts-12, ts-15, ts-17, ts-31, ts-32 and ts-33) synthesized wild-type levels of most virus polypeptides at 40 degrees C; six DNA+ ts mutants (ts-7, ts-8, ts-9, ts-11, ts-23 and ts-24) were defective in the post-translational cleavage of the polypeptides involved in membrane stabilization and particle assembly; one DNA+ ts mutant (ts-14) synthesized only the 'early' class of virus polypeptides, implying that either replicated DNA was not fully functional or that a specific early function was required for late transcription.