The polypeptides of adenovirus

Abstract

The adenovirion has been shown to contain at least nine different polypeptides demonstrable by dissociation and acrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Each polypeptide of adenovirus type 2 is chemically distinct by isotopic ratio analysis, and they all contain lysine, arginine, tryptophan, valine, and threonine. The molecular weights of these polypeptides determined by gel electrophoresis range from 120,000 for the largest and most prominent component to 7500 for the smallest. Comparison of nontumorigenic type 2 with tumorigenic types 7A and 12 by double-isotope labeling revealed a generally similar peptide pattern for all types. However, there were distinct differences between the corresponding peptides of all three types. These results imply extensive differences in the genes for most of the capsid proteins.