Molecular characterization of a caprine adenovirus

Restriction endonuclease site maps were constructed for the genome of a caprine adenovirus (GAdV), strain NC90-7261, which was isolated in 1990 from a 3-year-old goat with encephalitis. Genomic GAdV DNA was digested with seven restriction endonucleases (RE). Genomic DNA libraries of GAdV were constructed by cloning BamHI and HindIII restriction fragments into a plasmid vector. Using cloned GAdV genomic fragments as probes in Southern blot hybridizations, an RE site map was constructed. The position of several clones was confirmed by limited nucleotide sequencing and the location of several RE sites was determined by single or double RE digestions of cloned fragments. The size of the GAdV genome was determined to be 28.2 kbp. The restriction pattern described in this report is different from that of other adenoviruses. Although the genomic organization of this GAdV is likely to be similar to that of other adenoviruses, the overall level of sequence similarity is low.