[Damaging effect of 2 simian viruses on mammalian cell chromosomes].

A green monkey myxovirus (SV5) causes chromosome breaks in embryonal diploid fibroblasts of man, cotton rats, striped hairy-footed hamster, and in cells of one heteroploid line of newborn lamb kidney. Adenovirus SV15 is mutagenic for all cultures under study (diploid strains of human and cotton rat embryo fibroblasts and three continuous kidney cell lines from newborn lambs). The mutagenic activity of these viruses may be manifested without their undergoing a complete cycle of replication.