Adenovirus core proteins

Abstract
Advenovirus type 2 core proteins were studied with the aid of temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants affecting them. Cores prepared from wild-type virions with pyridine contained the structural proteins IVa2, V, VII, and X. Cores from the H2ts3 mutant contained an altered polypeptide V (50 K) of higher molecular weight and additional peptides. Ts1 virions produced at the restrictive temperature contained precores with proteins IVa2, V, pre-VI, pre-VII, and 11 K. This precore could be matured to a wild-type-like core by the adenovirus endoprotease. Of these core proteins only V, pre-VI, pre-VII, VII, and 11 K could be shown to reassociate in vitro with double-stranded heterologous DNA. Proteins IVa2 and X may bind to these core proteins rather than to the DNA directly.