[Expression in Escherichia coli of hepatitis B virus polymerase and its functional domains]

The plasmids have been constructed permitting expression of hepatitis B viral polymerase and its functional domains, the catalytic and end ones, as hybrid proteins containing 12 alien amino acids in the N-terminal. Immunoblotting with the rabbit antisera to N- and C-terminals of hepatitis B polymerase amino acid sequence has demonstrated that constructed plasmids determine the synthesis of the corresponding proteins in bacterial cells. HBV polymerase is processed in Escherichia coli cells. The successful expression of HBV polymerase and its functional domains makes possible the detailed study of this protein structure and function.