Sequence relationships between adenovirus 2 early RNA and viral RNA size classes synthesized at 18 hours after infection

Synthesis of cytoplasmic viral RNA was studied during infection of cultured human (KB) cells with adenovirus 2. At 6 hr, before viral DNA synthesis began, 5% of the poly(A) containing RNA hybridized to viral DNA; by 12 hr and at later times more than 80% was virus specified. At 18 hr after infection, four major size classes of cytoplasmic viral RNA were identified among the poly(A) containing molecules. These size classes migrated as 27S, 24S, 19S, and 12 to 15S in polyacrylamide gels. The three larger size classes could also be identified in denaturing formamide gels. Hybridization of the 27S, 24S, and 19S viral RNAs was not inhibited by RNA harvested from cells at early times in infection. Therefore, these three major RNAs must code for late viral proteins. Hybridization of the 12 to 15S RNA was partially inhibited by RNA from cultures harvested at early times, suggesting that in this size class some of the RNA labeled at 18 hr codes for early viral proteins.