Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) specific RNA in infected cells

BLV specific RNA sequences were detected by hybridization to the single stranded DNA copy of the viral RNA in fetal lamb kidney cells infected with bovine leukemia virus (FLK-BLV). The DNA synthesis was carried out in vitro by an endogenous reaction. It was found that uninfected lamb cells do not contain RNA sequences related to the BLV genome, whereas BLV-DNA completely annealed to FLK-BLV RNAs. RNA from FLK-BLV cells contains three species of virus specific RNA which sediment respectively at 35 S, 20--24 S and 12--4 S. In view of their EDTA-sensitive association with ribosomes, viral specific RNA sequences are viral messenger RNAs and their polarity is identical to that of the 70 S viral RNA.