Detection of integrated type-C viral DNA fragments in two primates (human and gibbon) by the restriction enzyme blotting technique.

We have shown that 1. partial provirus integration can be a possible result of a natural infection, and may serve as a model in animal systems where a viral etiology is implicated but detection of a major fraction of the virus genome is rare; 2. All human DNA contains some sequences that hybridize specifically with genomes of SiSV-SiSAV, suggesting that viruses of this group have infected humans in the past and recombined with human cellular DNA. 3. Finally, DNA from uncultured leukocytes of two leukemic patients, one being HL23, which yielded the virus HL23V in culture, was shown to have virus specific fragments related to BaEV. Another human DNA sample revealed virus specific fragments related to SiSV(SiSAV). These fragments are probably acquired by infection.