Characteristics of BK papovavirus DNA prepared directly from human urine.

DNA was prepared directly from preparations pf papovavirus excreted in the urine of 2 patients on immunosuppressive therapy, without preliminary amplification in cell cultures. EcoRI, BamHI, and HindIII restriction patterns were typical of BK virus DNA and were identical for the two isolates. However, there were significant differences in the sizes of the HindIII fragments when compared with those of standard cell-culture-adapted BK virus strains.