The nucleotide sequence of the transforming HpaI-E fragment of adenovirus type 5 DNA.

The primary structure of the HpaI-E fragment of adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) DNA has been determined, mainly by the method of Maxam and Gilbert (1977). This fragment comprises the leftmost 4.5% of the Ad5 genome, and has been shown to be the shortest DNA fragment capable of transforming cells. The identification of potential initiation and termination codons in the determined sequence indicates that two small polypeptides consisting of 186, and 81 amino acids, respectively, could be synthesized. Taking into account recent data on RNA splicing, a possibility is considered that this DNA may code also for larger polypeptides.