Characterization of two temperature-sensitive mutants of adenovirus type 5.

The properties of two temperature-sensitive mutants ts 18 and ts 19 of adenovirus type 5 were studied. It was demonstrated that they had a defect such that they failed to assemble virus and showed defective processing of infected cell polypeptides at the restrictive temperature. Analysis, after protease digestion, of the virions produced at the permissive temperature by SDS PAGE, and of the substrate availability of the mutants to the virus protein kinase suggested that polypeptide VI was defective in these mutants.