Monkey B-lymphotropic papovavirus DNA: nucleotide sequence of the region around the origin of replication

We have determined the nucleotide sequence of the HindIII-B DNA segment of African green monkey B-lymphotropic papovavirus (LPV), which shows a highly restricted host range and whose genome is a 5.1-kilobase-long circular DNA. The segment, consisting of 1,123 base pairs, contained the origin of DNA replication, the putative control region for early transcription, and the region probably coding for the amino-terminal portion of T antigens. The symmetrical region at the center of replication origin, 5'-GAGGC CA GGGGCCCC TA GCCTC-3' (on the L strand), has diverged in the central portion from the corresponding regions of primate polyomaviruses simian virus 40, BK virus, and JC virus, but resembles that of mouse polyomavirus. The structure of the control region upstream of the replication origin was unique to LPV and contained several repeated sequences, the longest of which were two 60-base-pair tandem repeats. The amino-terminal region common to LPV small T and large T antigens showed some homology (41%) in the deduced amino acid sequence to that of both simian virus 40 and the mouse polyomavirus. Like other polyomaviruses, the probable carboxyl-terminal region unique to LPV small T antigen contained two sets of the Cys-x-Cys-x-x-Cys structure. These data show that, despite the unique structures in the control region, LPV is evolutionally related to the mouse polyomavirus and to simian virus 40.