Cloning of Herpes simplex virus 2 DNA fragments in a plasmid vector

DNA isolated from virions of Herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-2) strain 333 was digested with various restriction enzymes and joined to the EK2 plasmid vector pBR322. The viral DNA sequences present in the hybrids were analyzed by restriction enzyme mapping and hybridization to fragments of HSV-2 DNA. The collection of recombinant molecules represents approx. 75% of the HSV-2-genome. In most cases, the structure of the recombinants seemed identical to the organization of authentic fragments of HSV-2 DNA, however, a few hybrids contained rearrangements of viral and plasmid sequences.