Two complementary strand-specific termination sites for adenovirus DNA replication.

Adenovirus type 2 DNA, specifically labeled at the termini for DNA replication, was prepared by isolation of viral DNA molecules which were completed during short pulses with 3H-thymidine. The distribution of radioactivity in the two complementary strands at the termini for DNA replication was determined by liquid phase hybridization and gelelectrophoresis. At the right-hand terminus, nearly all radioactivity was found in the viral h strand, whereas at the left-hand terminus, most radioactivity was confined to the viral l strand. The results suggest that both molecular ends serve as origins and termini for replication of adenovirus type 2 DNA.