A simple technique for endonuclease mapping of cytomegaloviruses

A simple procedure, suitable for routine epidemiological studies, is described for the differentiation of strains of cytomegaloviruses. Crude DNA from infected cells labelled with 32P was digested with restriction endonucleases and the resultant oligonucleotides were separated by electrophoresis on agarose gels. As few as 10(5) infected cells (i.e. a confluent monolayer of about 1 cm2) provided sufficient DNA for one analysis.