No homology detectable between Marek's disease virus (MDV) DNA and herpesvirus of the turkey (HVT) DNA.

The relation of four different strains of MDV and two strains of HVT was analyzed by gel electrophoresis of viral DNA digested by various restriction endonucleases and by filter hybridization of viral DNA with complementary RNA. The four MDV strains showed fragment patterns completely different from those of HVT upon digestion of the viral DNA with Bam H I, Eco R I, Hind III, Hpa, I, and Xho and separation of fragments on agarose gels. The cleavage patterns of the four MDV strains showed great similarities among each other as well as some differences between the individual strains. In the cleavage patterns of HVT a similar close relationship was observed between the two HVT strains with slight divergence between both. Filter hybridizations of viral DNA with labelled complementary RNA prepared from the DNA of the GA strain of MDV or from the DNA of the PH-THV1 strain of HVT revealed no cross-hybridization between the MDV and the HVT strains. cRNA prepared from the DNA of an MDV strain hybridized only to restriction enzyme fragments of the MDV strains transferred to nitrocellulose filters, but not to fragments of HVT DNA, and vice versa.