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Stable replication of plasmids derived from Epstein–Barr virus in various mammalian cells

Nature volume 313, pages 812–815 (1985)Cite this article

Abstract

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infects human B lymphocytes, transforming the infected cells into dividing blasts that can proliferate indefinitely (see ref. 1 for a review). The viral genome of 172 kilobase pairs (kbp) is a plasmid in most transformed cells2–4. We have identified a region of EBV DNA, termed oriP (nucleotides 7,333–9,109 of strain B95–8), which acts in cis to permit linked DNAs to replicate as plasmids in cells containing EBV DNA5. We have postulated the existence of a trans-acting gene allowing oriP function. Here we report that this gene lies in a 2.6-kbp region of the viral genome (nucleotides 107, 567–110, 176) which encodes the EBNA-1 antigen6–8. We show that circular DNAs containing oriP, the EBNA-1 gene and a selectable marker replicate autonomously in cells derived from at least four developmental lineages and from at least three species. We also find that the one-third of the EBNA-1 gene repetitive in sequence is not essential for the trans-acting function that EBNA-1 gives oriP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA

    John L. Yates, Noreen Warren & Bill Sugden

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  1. John L. Yates
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  2. Noreen Warren
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  3. Bill Sugden
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Yates, J., Warren, N. & Sugden, B. Stable replication of plasmids derived from Epstein–Barr virus in various mammalian cells. Nature 313, 812–815 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/313812a0

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