Adenovirus terminal protein mediates both nuclear matrix association and efficient transcription of adenovirus DNA

J. Schaack, W. Y.W. Ho, P. Freimuth, T. Shenk

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

112 Scopus citations

Abstract

Adenvirus DNA is tightly bound to the nuclear matrix throughout the course of infection. Analysis of adenovirus DNA from infected HeLa cell nuclei after extraction with lithium diiodosalicylate and digestion with restriction enzymes demonstrated that the sites of tightest attachment occur in the terminal fragments of the linear viral chromosome. Analysis of viruses mutated in the precursor terminal protein coding sequence demonstrated that the terminal protein, which is covalently attached to the 5' end of each DNA strand, mediates the tight binding. Virions containing chromosomes with mutant terminal proteins were unpackaged and viral DNA accumulated in the nucleus at a normal rate and competed for the limiting component during transcription complex formation, but their early genes were transcribed at reduced efficiency by both RNA polymerases II and III. The transcriptional defects were not complemented by coinfection with a wild-type virus. We propose that the adenovirus chromosome may exist as a single chromatin domain during infection and that binding of DNA to the nuclear matrix may play a critical role in adenovirus.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1197-1208
Number of pages12
JournalGenes and Development
Volume4
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 1990

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Genetics
  • Developmental Biology

Keywords

  • adenovirus terminal protein
  • adenovirus transcription
  • nuclear matrix

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