Chromosome banding, isoenzyme studies and determination of Epstein-Barr virus DNA content on human Burkitt lymphoma/mouse hybrids.

Four independently fused hybrid clones derived from a cross between the mouse mammary carcinoma TA3Ha and the human Burkitt lymphoma line Daudi were tested for the EBV-determined nuclear antigen (EBNA), EBV-DNA and the presence of human chromosomes, in the course of serial propagation in vitro. EBNA and EBV-DNA were lost in parallel with the loss of human chromosomes. It seems that the persistence of EB-viral genetic information does not require the presence of a specific human chromosome(s) in this particular hybrid combination.