Adenovirus type 2 nuclear RNA accumulating during productive infection

The viral-specific nuclear RNA which accumulates early and late during productive infection of HeLa cells by adenovirus-type 2 (Ad2) has been characterized with respect to its size and stability after denaturation by Me2SO. Early nuclear transcripts, under nondenaturing conditions, sediment in the range 28 to 45S, but treatment with Me2SO prior to sedimentation results in a shift to about 20S. Later nuclear RNA accumulates as a composite of two populations of molecules: one with a broad size distribution centering on 45S under nondenaturing conditions and less than 32S after denaturation and a second having a narrow size distribution around 35S which is quite stable to Me2SO. Analysis of late RNA by hybridization to Sma fragments of Ad2 DNA suggests that the 35S RNA species is derived from a limited portion of the left half of the viral genome.