Okazaki fragments, a constant component of avian myeloblastosis virus core-bound 7 S DNA.

We have shown that the unusual CsCl-buoyant density and velocity sedimentation properties of the isolated host 7 S DNA species associated with the core fraction of avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) are made mainly by tight association of RNA pieces prevalently joined to the single-stranded portion of this material. It was shown indirectly on sedimentation patterns of [methyl-3H]thymidine and [14C]uridine double-labelled and glyoxylated total AMV DNA, and directly in phosphorylation experiments with T4 polynucleotide kinase performed on the single-stranded portion of AMV DNA that the RNA-DNA link in AMV DNA is of a covalent nature and that the 5'-terminal end of DNA at the RNA-DNA junction is occupied by all four common deoxyribonucleotides. This first evidence of the presence of Okazaki fragments in 7 S AMV DNA clearly indicates that this DNA does not represent a randomly fragmented host DNA included by chance into virions but special fragments of host DNA having the properties of DNA replicative structures with possible consequences for some viral function(s) including those involved in virus-cell interactions.