Nuclear location signals in polyoma virus large-T.

We have found two mutually independent sequence elements that contribute to the nuclear location of polyoma virus large-T. The first sequence (pro lys lys282 ala arg glu asp) resembles the SV40 large-T nuclear signal (pro lys lys128 lys arg lys val) and occurs at a corresponding position within polyoma large-T. The second sequence (val ser arg lys192 arg pro arg) may be structurally related to the SV40 signal, although it has little sequence homology and falls in a region of the protein that has no counterpart in SV40 large-T. The data suggest that nuclear location signals with characteristics similar to the SV40 large-T prototype may be a more general feature of nuclear proteins, and that several such signals in a given protein can exert cooperative effects.