DNA complementary to viral RNA in leukemic cells induced by avian myeloblastosis virus

Nucleic acid hybridization studies were made between 71S-AMV-RNA and DNA from leukemic myeloblasts and from normal chicken cells. There was homology between the viral RNA and chicken cell DNA and to a greater extent between viral RNA and leukemic cell DNA. Leukemic cell DNA hybridized approximately twice as much viral RNA as did normal chicken DNA. Thermal melting studies showed that the viral RNA bound to normal and leukemic cell DNA consists of long polynucleotides (T(m) = 87 degrees and 92 degrees C, respectively, in 2x saline citrate). This suggests that the leukemic cells contain a DNA template of the viral RNA.