S13, a rapidly oncogenic replication-defective avian retrovirus

The avian leukemia sarcoma virus S13 transforms chicken and Japanese quail embryo fibroblasts and chicken erythroid cells in tissue culture. S13-induced erythroid transformation requires culture conditions suitable for the growth of normal erythroid precursors (H. Beug and M. J. Hayman (1984), Cell 36, 963-972). S13-transformed erythroid colonies contain a high percentage of cells that differentiate in absence of erythropoietin. S13 is defective in pol and env functions but can code for a complete set of gag proteins. Nonproducer cell clones transformed by S13 release a noninfectious viral particle containing gag but no functional env or pol proteins. They also synthesize a transformation-specific protein of 155,000 molecular weight. This protein reacts with antibody to viral envelope glycoproteins and appears to represent onc as well as env sequences. The 155,000-molecular weight env-linked protein does not cross react immunologically with an antiserum against the v-erb A and v-erb B gene products.