Episomal viral DNA in herpesvirus saimiri-transformed lymphoid cell lines

Structural analysis of episomal viral genomes from two herpesvirus saimiri (HVS)-transformed tumour cell lines (No. 1670 and 70N2) showed that both types of episomes have a higher molecular weight than linear virion DNA. The arrangement of unique (L) and repetitive (H) DNA in No. 1670 episomes was studied by partial denaturation mapping. Part of the L-sequences present in linear virion DNA was found to be missing, part was found to be duplicated in the episomes. The episomal L-DNA regions were correlated with the known physical gene maps of linear HVS DNA.