Adenovirus isolates from urine of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

13 adenoviruses (Ad) from the urine of 10 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were characterised by haemagglutination inhibition and restriction endonuclease analysis of their DNA. The haemagglutinin (HA) for 6 of these isolates was found to be that of Ad34/35. 3 other isolates were found to have Ad7 HA and the remaining 4 viruses were found to have both phenotypes. In contrast, the restriction patterns were more homogeneous than anticipated from the serological analysis. 11 isolates had a SmaI-restriction pattern identical to Ad35, and 2 isolates, which lacked one of the 9 Ad35 SmaI-restriction sites, were identical to Ad34. Analyses with other restriction enzymes reinforced the conclusion that the genomes of all isolates resemble that of Ad35 (and Ad34) more than they resembled the previously isolated Ad7 subtypes. The discrepancy between the restriction endonuclease and the serological analyses is best explained by assuming that some of these new isolates are recombinants between a small part (less than 10%) of the Ad7 genome coding for HA and greater than 90% of the Ad35 genome. It is therefore important to characterise both the genotype and the HA for this potentially important group of pathogens in AIDS patients.