Two major DNA variants present in serially propagated stocks of the WR strain of vaccinia virus

Abstract

Two major DNA variants have been isolated from serially propagated stocks of the WR strain of vaccinia virus. Restriction enzyme mapping of the two variants with HindIII, AvaI, XhoI, SstII, and SmaI revealed a 6.3-megadalton deletion in the smaller DNA variant. The deletion was mapped at ca. 6.8 megadaltons in from the left terminus, just beyond the inverted terminal repeat. The additional DNA present in the larger variant was found to represent unique viral sequences that were transcribed both in vitro and in vivo. One-step growth curves in HeLa cells revealed no difference in rat of replication or burst size when progeny was scored on CV-1 monolayers.