The DNA of serially passaged herpes simplex virus: organization, origin, and homology to viral RNA.

High-density DNA prepared from serially passaged herpes simplex virus contains three major classes of modified viral DNA molecules. The altered DNA molecules are composed of multiple repetitions of sequences derived from the right-hand side of the S region of the parental plaque-purified viral DNA. The repeat units contained in the three types of high-density DNA share most of their DNA sequences but differ with respect to a small region derived from the unique sequences of the S component of HSV-1 DNA. Hybridization of the defective DNA to HSV-infected cell RNA shows that the high-density DNA contains sequences complementary to both early and late viral transcripts.