The nucleotide sequence of the transforming early region E1 of adenovirus type 5 DNA

The sequence of the leftmost 11.3% of the non-oncogenic human adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) DNA has been determined. This segment contains the entire early region E1 of the Ad5 genome which has been shown to be involved in in vitro transformation of non-permissive rodent cells (Van der Eb et al., 1980). From the DNA sequence, and from the mRNA sequence data obtained by Perricaudet et al, (1979, 1980) for the E1 mRNAs from the closely related adenovirus type 2 (Ad2), it is possible to predict the primary structure of the polypeptides encoded by this region. The function of these proteins in cell transformation is discussed. From the positions of mapped restriction endonuclease sites and termini of RNA segments in the nucleotide sequence the length of the Ad5 DNA is estimated to be 36.6 kb.