Daltons Of DNA Research Articles

The Layered Structure of Human Mitochondrial DNA Nucleoids

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) occurs in cells in nucleoids containing several copies of the genome. Previous studies have identified proteins associated with these large DNA structures when they are biochemically purified by sedimentation and immunoaffinity chromatography. In this study, formaldehyde cross-linking was performed to determine which nucleoid proteins are in close contact with the mtDNA. A set of core nucleoid proteins is found in both native and cross-linked nucleoids, including 13 proteins with known roles in mtDNA transactions. Several other metabolic proteins and chaperones identified in native nucleoids, including ATAD3, were not observed to cross-link to mtDNA. Additional immunofluorescence and protease susceptibility studies showed that an N-terminal domain of ATAD3 previously proposed to bind to the mtDNA D-loop is directed away from the mitochondrial matrix, so it is unlikely to interact with mtDNA in vivo. These results are discussed in relation to a model for a layered structure of mtDNA nucleoids in which replication and transcription occur in the central core, whereas translation and complex assembly may occur in the peripheral region.

CELL SURVIVAL CHARACTERISTICS AND MOLECULAR RESPONSES OF ANTARCTIC PHYTOPLANKTON TO ULTRAVIOLET‐B RADIATION1

ABSTRACTTwelve species of Antarctic diatoms were studied to assess UV sensitivity in relation to cellular and molecular aspects of DNA damage and repair. Responses of cell survival, induction of DNA damage, and DNA repair capacity were determined. There was a wide range of interspecific UV‐sensitivity among diatoms. D37 values (average fluence to kill one cell) ranged from 681 J · m−2 (most sensitive) to 25,338 J · m−2 (most resistant). Molecular analysis (by radioimmunoassay) of UV‐induced DNA damage [induction of cys‐syn cyclobutane dimers and pyrimidine (6‐4) pyrimidone photoproducts] also revealed considerable variability among species [0.98–84 lesions · (108 daltons DNA)−1 induced by exposure to 2500 J · m−2]. Repair of DNA damage ranged from 0.18 to 2.72 lesions removed · (108 daltons DNA)−1 in 6 h; removal represented 0.72–73.5% of initial damage. Comparison of cellular responses associated with photoenhanced repair and nucleotide excision (“dark”) repair indicated that light‐mediated correction of UV damage was an important factor in cell survival. There was a relationship between the number of photoproducts induced and cell survival, but not between repair efficiency and survival. The data also indicate a general dependence of photoproduct induction and D37 values on cell size and shape (expressed as the surface area: volume ratio which ranged from 0.07 to 0.66 between species) and suggest that these factors are indicators of UV sensitivity. Smaller cells with greater surface area: volume ratios sustained more damage per unit of DNA, had lower D37 values, and were more sensitive to UV exposure. The wide species variations observed in molecular and cellular responses to UV exposure emphasize the ecological implications of changes in natural UV regimes. These changes can act as determinants of cell size and taxonomic structure within phytoplankton communities and have as yet unknown effects on trophic interactions within the Antarctic ecosystem.

ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT INDUCES DOUBLE‐STRAND BREAKS IN DNA OF CULTURED HUMAN P3 CELLS AS MEASURED BY NEUTRAL FILTER ELUTION

Neutral filter elution at pH 7.2 and 9.6 was used to measure the induction of DNA lesions in human P3 teratocarcinoma cells by monochromatic 254-, 270-, 313-, 334-, 365-, and 405-nm radiation and by 60 gamma rays. In this assay DNA double-strand breaks (dsb) increase the rate of elution of DNA from cell lysates on a filter. Yields of dsb as measured by this procedure were determined by using a calibration of the assay that correlates elution parameters with number of dsb caused by disintegration of 125I incorporated into the DNA. Analysis of fluence responses obtained by using the calibrated assay indicated that the number of dsb induced per dalton of DNA as measured by this assay is proportional to the square of the fluence at all the energies of radiation studied, implying that the induction of these lesions may be a two-hit event. Analysis of the relative efficiencies for the induction of dsb by ultraviolet radiation, corrected for quantum efficiency, revealed a spectrum that coincided closely with that for the induction of single-strand breaks (ssb) in the same cells, having a close fit with the spectrum of nucleic acid in the UVC and UVB region below 313 nm, and a shoulder in the UVA region. It was calculated, however, that there may be too few ssb for dsb to result from randomly distributed closely opposed ssb.

Effects of hyperthermia on the repair of radiation-induced DNA single-and double-strand breaks in DNA double-strand break repair-deficient and repair-proficient cell lines

The effect of heat on the induction and repair of DNA single (ssb) and double (dsb) strand breaks was studied in irradiated exponentially growing or plateau-phase CHO cells and their DNA dsb repair-deficient, radiation-sensitive counterpart, the xrs-5 cells. Induction and repair of DNA ssb was measured by the alkaline unwinding technique, whereas induction and repair of DNA dsb was measured by the non-unwinding filter elution technique. The results indicated that pre-exposure of cells to heat (45 x 5 degrees C) for 8-30 min did not affect the induction of DNA ssb or DNA dsb per Gy and dalton of DNA in CHO or xrs-5 cells, tested either in the exponential or in the plateau-phase of growth. On the other hand, pre-exposure to heat inhibited DNA repair processes and increased the fraction of unrepaired radiation-induced damage measured 2 h after irradiation. Repair of DNA dsb was more heat-sensitive than repair of DNA ssb in both cell lines. Repair of radiation-induced ssb or dsb was inhibited in xrs-5 cells to a larger extent than in CHO cells after a similar exposure to heat. These results complement those previously reported on heat-induced radiosensitization in these cell lines, and suggest that the reduction in heat-induced radiosensitization observed in xrs-5 cells is largely due to their deficiency in repairing DNA dsb, rather than to a reduction in the ability of heat to inhibit DNA repair processes in general. The data presented here provide further support to the hypothesis that DNA dsb repair proficiency is a prerequisite for heat-induced radiosensitization.

Characterization of clones displaying enhanced resistance to methylating agents in O6-methyl-guanine-DNA methyltransferase-proficient CHO cells

DNA from untreated L-cells had a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 5.7 ± 0.58·108 daltons as measured by sedimentation in an alkaline sucrose gradient. This value was reduced by one half after the cells were treated for 1 h with 8 μg/ml of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNUA), 34 μg/ml of methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) or 0.16 μg/ml of N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). That dose of MNUA produced 52 methylations per 5.7·108 daltons DNA. 20% of these were not purine derivatives and were assumed to contain some phosphotriesters. That dose of MMS (above) produced 290 methylations per 5.7·108 daltons DNA and about 14% of these were not purine derivatives. The rates of loss of methylated purines from DNA were 2.3% per hour for 7-methylguanine (7-MeG), 7.4% per hour for 3-methyladenine (3-MeA) and no detectable loss of O6-methylguanine (O6-MeG) over a 12 h period. Since phosphotriesters are alkali-labile the single-strand breaks probably arose from this structure and did not form within the cell. This conclusion is supported by the following considerations. MNUA was more effective than MMS at reducing the molecular weight of DNA, as measured in alkaline medium. The greater SN1 character of MNUA would cause a greater formation of phosphotriesters than would MMS.

Evidence from Nondenaturing Filter Elution That Induction of Double-Strand Breaks in the DNA of Chinese Hamster V79 Cells by γ Radiation Is Proportional to the Square of Dose

We have used nondenaturing filter elution performed at both pH 7.2 and pH 9.6 to measure the induction of double-strand breaks (DSBs) in the DNA of Chinese hamster V79 cells by 60Co gamma-radiation doses between 10 and 120 Gy. The absolute DSB yields as measured by this assay were determined by using our recent calibration of the assay based upon disintegrations of 125I incorporated into the DNA. An analysis of the dose-response relationship for the induction of DSBs by 60Co gamma rays showed that the number of DSBs induced per dalton of DNA was proportional to the square of the applied dose throughout the dose range used. The contribution made by the dose to the first power was small at pH 9.6 and negligible at pH 7.2. These results suggest that DSB induction in cells by gamma rays may be entirely a two-hit event.

Comparative Removal of Pyrimidine Dimers from Human Epidermal Keratinocytes In Vivo and In Vitro

We have compared the kinetics for repair of UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers in the DNA of keratinocytes in human skin and in cell culture. A small area of the buttocks of volunteers was exposed to UVB-irradiation and biopsies were taken at various time intervals. Epidermal keratinocytes in culture from the same subjects were exposed to UVC with doses chosen to elicit comparable yields of dimers in cellular DNA. The initial density of pyrimidine dimers and the kinetics of their removal were assessed utilizing the dimer-specific T4 endonuclease V and sedimentation of the unlabeled DNA through alkaline sucrose gradients. The position of DNA in the gradients was determined using a monoclonal antibody against random sequences of single-stranded DNA in a sensitive immunoassay. The initial dimer frequency was 3.9-6.7 per 10(8) daltons DNA. About 40% of the dimers were removed within 1 h, 70% in 6 h, and 90% in 24 h for both in vivo and in vitro samples. The early rapid removal phase may represent preferential repair of actively transcribed genes. Our findings reaffirm the usefulness and applicability of cell culture systems to model in vivo repair phenomena. The use of monoclonal antibodies to detect single-stranded DNA in alkaline sucrose gradients may be of value in a variety of studies involving human tissues in which it is not possible to use radioactive labeling of the DNA for the analysis.

Detection and repair of a UV-induced photosensitive lesion in the DNA of human cells

Irradiation with UV light results in damage to the DNA of human cells. The most numerous lesions are pyrimidine dimers; however, other lesions are known to occur and may contribute to the overall deleterious effect of UV irradiation. We have observed evidence of a UV-induced lesion other than pyrimidine dimers in the DNA of human cells by measuring DNA strand breaks induced by irradiating with 313-nm light following UV (254-nm) irradiation. These breaks, measured by alkaline sucrose sedimentation, increased linearly with the dose of UV light over the range tested (10–40 J/m 2). The breaks cannot be photolytically induced 5 h after a UV dose of 20 J/m 2 in normal cells; however, in xeroderma pigmentosum variant cells, the breaks are inducible for up to 24 h after UV irradiation. Xeroderma pigmentosum group A cells in the same 5-h period show an increase in the number of strand breaks seen with 313-nm light photolysis from about 2 to 4 breaks/10 9 dalton DNA. These breaks can then be induced for up to 24 h. These data suggest that, in normal cells, the lesion responsible for this effect is rapidly repaired or altered; whereas, in xeroderma pigmentosum variant cells it seems to remain unchanged. Some change apparently occurs in the DNA of xeroderma pigmentosum group A cells which results in an increase in photolability. These data indicate a deficiency in DNA repair of xeroderma pigmentosum variant cells as well as in xeroderma pigmentosum group A cells.

Quantitation of carcinogen-induced DNA damage and repair in human cells with the UVR ABC excision nuclease from Escherichia coli.

Recent studies by others have shown that the endonuclease complex coded for by the uvrA, uvrB and uvrC genes of Escherichia coli (UVR ABC excision nuclease) can incise DNA containing a variety of 'bulk-type' lesions, such as those resulting from u.v. light, (+/-)-7 alpha,8 beta-dihydroxy-9 alpha,10 alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (anti-BPDE), and N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene. Using partially purified UVR ABC excision nuclease, we have quantitated the number of endonuclease sensitive sites (ESS) in purified DNA isolated from human fibroblasts treated with u.v. light or BPDE. The number of ESS/10(8) daltons of DNA were calculated from the number average mol. wt. of the DNA as determined by sedimentation in alkaline sucrose gradients. The number of endonuclease sites increased linearly with increasing doses of either u.v. light or BPDE. The UVR ABC excision nuclease was able to incise a majority of the BPDE-DNA adducts. Xeroderma pigmentosum fibroblasts, complementation group A (XP12BE) had 20-25% more ESS at each dose than the BPDE-treated normal (HSBP) cells. Cells treated with 4 microM BPDE and allowed 12 h of incubation to perform excision repair showed removal of 60% of the initial number of ESS from HSBP DNA and 40% of the ESS from XP-A DNA. Beyond 12 h XP12BE cells lost no additional ESS while HSBP cells continued to lose ESS, although at a slower rate, until at 48 h only 22% of the initial ESS remained. In cells treated with 10 J/m2 of u.v. light, the UVR ABC excision nuclease detected 60% of the sites recognized by the pyridimine dimer specific Micrococcus luteus glycosylase/apyrimidinic endonuclease. These results demonstrate the potential use of the UVR ABC excision nuclease in a quantitative assay for determining the number of carcinogen-induced lesions in human DNA.

Effects of aphidicolin and/or 2‘,3‘-dideoxythymidine on DNA repair induced in HeLa cells by four types of DNA-damaging agents.

The alkaline sucrose density gradient centrifugation method was modified to permit detection of 1 lesion/10(9) daltons of DNA. With this technique, the involvements of DNA polymerases in DNA repair of damage by dimethyl sulfate, UV irradiation, neocarzinostatin, and bleomycin were studied in HeLa cells with the aid of the DNA polymerase inhibitors aphidicolin and 2',3'-dideoxythymidine. DNA repair after UV-induced damage seemed to involve only polymerase alpha, while repair of damage by the other three agents involved both polymerase alpha and a non-alpha polymerase, probably polymerase beta. But repair after damage by dimethyl sulfate differed from that after damage by neocarzinostatin or bleomycin with respect to the co-operations of polymerase alpha and polymerase beta: in repair of dimethyl sulfate-induced damage, both polymerases operated on the same lesions, whereas after damage by neocarzinostatin or bleomycin, polymerase alpha and polymerase beta functioned independently on different lesions.

125I-induced DNA double strand breaks: use in calibration of the neutral filter elution technique and comparison with X-ray induced breaks.

The neutral filter elution assay, for measurement of DNA double strand breakage, has been calibrated using mouse L cells and Chinese hamster V79 cells labelled with [125I]dUrd and then held at liquid nitrogen temperature to accumulate decays. The basis of the calibration is the observation that each 125I decay, occurring in DNA, produces a DNA double strand break. Linear relationships between 125I decays per cell and lethal lesions per cell (minus natural logarithm survival) and the level of elution, were found. Using the calibration data, it was calculated that the yield of DNA double strand breaks after X-irradiation of both cell types was from 6 to 9 X 10(-12) DNA double strand breaks per Gy per dalton of DNA, for doses greater than 6 Gy. Neutral filter elution and survival data for X-irradiated and 125I-labelled cells suggested that the relationships between lethal lesions and DNA double strand breakage were significantly different for both cell types. An attempt was made to study the repair kinetics for 125I-induced DNA double strand breaks, but was frustrated by the rapid DNA degradation which occurs in cells that have been killed by the freezing-thawing process.

Elevation of dCTP pools in xeroderma pigmentosum variant human fibroblasts alters the effects of DNA repair arrest by arabinofuranosyl cytosine.

DNA excision repair inhibition by arabinofuranosyl cytosine (ara-C) or by ara-C/hydroxyurea (HU) was measured in log phase and confluent cultures of normal and xeroderma pigmentosium (XP)-variant human fibroblasts following insult by ultraviolet (UV) light (20 J/m2). Repair inhibition was determined by measuring the accumulation of DNA single-strand breaks/10(8) daltons following cell culture exposure to ara-C or ara-C/HU in a series of 3 hr. pulses up ro 24 hr. after UV insult. Both normal and XP-variant derived cells showed a wide range of sensitivity to ara-C in log phase cells (0.2-9.4 breaks/10(8) daltons DNA), although strand break accumulation was constant for each specific cell line. The same cells were more sensitive to ara-C/HU with a 2-14 fold increase in DNA strand breaks depending upon the cell line assayed. In confluent cultures of normal cells, maximum sensitivity to ara-C and ara-C/HU was achieved with similar levels of repair inhibition observed (16.1 and 16.5 breaks/10(8) daltons, respectively). The same level of repair inhibition was observed in confluent XP-variants receiving ara-C/HU, but was reduced by 62-68% in cells treated with ara-C alone. Ara-C repair arrest was more rapidly reversed by competing concentrations of exogenous deoxycytidine (dCyd) in XP-variant compared to normal cells, especially in confluent cell cultures. In ara-C/HU treated cells, the level of dCyd reversal was reduced in the XP-variant when compared to cells exposed to ara-C alone. However, the same addition of HU had relatively little effect on dCyd reversal in normal cells. The measurements of dNTP levels indicate an elevated level of intracellular deoxycytosine triphosphate in XP-variant vs normal cells. The implications of these results are discussed as they relate to possible excision repair anomalies in the XP-variant.

Studies on the cytosolic dna of chick embryo fibroblasts and its uptake by recipient cultured cells

1. 1. Cytosol and extruded DNA complexes from cultured chick embryo fibroblast cells have been separated by agarose gel chromatography at intervals after pulse labelling with [ 3H]thymidine. 2. 2. The proportion of the various cytosol components changed markedly with time: there was a lag period of 3 hr before the major labelled (5 x 10 5 dalton) DNA complex appeared in the cytosol, and a further lag period of 5 hr before it was extruded from the cell. 3. 3. Cultured chick embryo fibroblast, and rat spleen, cells rapidly and very efficiently import their own or each others cytosolic DNA complexes into their respective cytosol fractions: the material recovered from the cytosol of recipient cells is characteristic of the presented material. 4. 4. Homologous cytosolic DNA complex presented to chick embryo fibroblast cells also becomes associated with the nucleus. The rat at which this occurs is comparable with the rate of incorporation of [ 3H]thymidine into nuclear DNA.

DNA Repair in Skin of Lupus Erythematosus Following In Vivo Exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation

The in vivo repair of pyrimidine dimers induced in the DNA of skin of 9 patients diagnosed as systemic or discoid lupus erythematosus (LE) was measured. A small area of the buttock was exposed to radiation emitted from a Burdick UV-800 sunlamp. The number of pyrimidine dimers was measured by incubating the epidermal skin DNA with UV-specific endonuclease and sedimenting the DNA through alkaline sucrose gradients. The initial number of dimers induced following sunlamp exposure was 7.6 +/- 1.8 per 10(8) daltons DNA. The level of photorepair was measured by illuminating an area of the skin with greater than 450-nm radiation immediately following sunlamp exposure. We found that 56.5 +/- 9.5% of the dimers are photorepaired with 5 min of illumination. Excision repair was measured in an area of the skin covered for 2 and 24 h postirradiation. Approximately 44 and 81% of the dimers induced immediately following sunlamp exposure were removed at these respective times. These observations in LE are similar to those observed in the skin of normal individuals.

Detection of DNA Single-Strand Breaks during the Repair of UV Damage in Xeroderma Pigmentosum Cells

In this investigation, xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) fibroblasts, XP12BE, were uv-irradiated and then incubated with cytosine arabinoside and hydroxyurea for 4 hr to inhibit the polymerase step of DNA excision repair. By alkaline elution, DNA single-strand breaks (SSB) were detected in XP cells with this regimen with an efficiency of 0.1-0.2 SSB per 10(9) daltons of DNA per J m-2. There was an approximately linear relation between the SSB frequency and uv dose over a range of 0.2 to 25 J m-2. This effect was approximately two orders of magnitude greater in excision-proficient normal human fibroblasts than in XP cells. These results support the conclusion that a low residual level of DNA excision repair occurs in XP group A cells and that the SSB generated during this repair can be accumulated with this polymerase inhibitor.

Measurement of M. luteus endonuclease-sensitive lesions by alkaline elution

The UV-endonuclease approach to detect DNA damage has been combined with the alkaline elution technique with a resultant marked increase in sensitivity compared to the conventional method using alkaline sedimentation. DNA from UV-irradiated cells was digested on an inert filter with an extract from Micrococcus luteus and then analyzed by alkaline elution. Endonuclease-sensitive sites (endo-sites) were measured after doses of 0.08–.07 Jm −2 of UV-radiation. An estiamte of endo-site production with UV radiation, 0.27 endo-sites/10 8 daltons of DNA/0.1 Jm −2, was similar to that usually seen at higher doses by others. With repair incubation, approx. 50% of the endo-sites were removed in 4 h by normal human fibroblasts after 0.2 or 0.4 Jm −2; no appreaciable repair was seen in xeroderma pigmentosum fibroblasts from complementation group A after 24 h of repair incubation. No photoreaction of UV damage due to 0.4 Jm −2 was detected in normal human fibroblasts. The endonuclease preparation also recognized DNA damage produced by ionizing radiation or an alkylating agent. Approx. 0.4 endo-sites/10 8 daltons of DNA were detected after a dose of 1 krad and 1 endo-site/10 8 daltons was observed after exposure of human cells to 2.5 μM MNNG for 1.3 h. The lesions detected after MNNG treatment by the endonuclease preparation decreased with post-treatment incubation—T1/2 8 h. The kinetics of removal of the endo-sites induced by MNNG were similar in normal cells and human cells of the mer − phenotype which had been shown to be more sensitive by cell killing to alkylating-agent damage. This should prove to be a useful approach to study DNA damage and repair since the entire assay can be done in several hours and a very low level of damage (1 endo-site/2 × 10 0 daltons of DNA) can be detected.

Determination of DNA superhelicity and extremely low levels of DNA strand breaks in low numbers of nonradiolabeled cells by DNA-4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole fluorescence in nucleoid gradients

Nonradiolabeled cells derived from animals or cell cultures can be examined in nucleoid gradients labeled with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole to quantitate extremely low levels of DNA strand breaks and DNA superhelicity. In vitro: 4′,6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole detection of DNA in nucleoid gradients requires only 15,000 nonradiolabeled human dermal fibroblasts per gradient. Quantization of increased DNA strand breaks, relative to controls, occurring at frequencies as low as one break per 2.2 × 10 10 daltons DNA is possible. This technique was employed to examine low-passage (“young”) and high-passage (“old”) normal human dermal fibroblasts. DNA from old cells contains approximately one more strand break per 5 × 10 9 daltons that does the DNA from young cells, and this difference is unobservable using conventional radiolabeled alkaline-sucrose gradients. Decreased DNA negative superhelicity in the old cells was also observed. In vivo: This technique was used to examine nucleoids derived from female Fisher rat livers treated with aflatoxin B 1. Treated cells exhibit decreased DNA negative superhelicity. Since this technique cannot quantitate DNA strand breaks occurring at the higher levels required by alkaline techniques, it is proposed that this technique is a necessary complement to alkaline techniques when low levels of DNA strand breaks must be quantitated.

Presence of the pre-mRNA for the 72K DNA binding protein in hnRNP from early adenovirus-2 infected HeLa cells

nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (hnRNP) extracted from early adenovirus-2 infected HeLa cells contain covalently intact pre-mRNA of adenovirus 72000 daltons DNA binding protein as well as mRNA which seems to be associated to typically nuclear structures.

Increased efficiency of photoreversal of UV-induced dimers in the DNA of chick embryo fibroblasts with post-UV dark time

The kinetics of photoreversal of UV-induced dimers in the DNA of early passage chick embryo fibroblasts was studied by monitoring disappearance of UV-endonuleae-sensitive sites. Photorepair was found to increase in efficiency when cells were incubated in the dark for several hours at 37°C following the dimer-inducing short-wavelength (254 nm) UV treatment, but prior to the photoreactivating black light (365 nm). Folllowing a UV dose of 10 J/m 2 it took at least 4 h in the dark to saturate this effect. This UV dose inserts roughly 2.4 dimer/10 7 daltons of DNA. Dark repair removes about 0.08 dimers /h/10 7 daltons. After 6 h in the dark, exposure to black light removes an additional 1.4 dimers /10 7 daltons leaving about 0.5 dimers unaffected by this treatment. After saturation of the dark effect, the amount of photoreactivation depends only on total black light fluence and not on fluence rate for the range of rates studied. This indicates that during 30 min, the maximum time of black light exposure, no appreciable reattachment of the photorepair molecule to additional unrepaired dimer sites occurs. We estimate that the number of effective photorepair molecules per chick chick cell is at least of the order of 2 × 10 5.

Deletion of a 9,000-base-pair segment of the vaccinia virus genome that encodes nonessential polypeptides.

Deletions contained within the genomes of unstable and stable variants of vaccinia virus (strain WR) were analyzed. Restriction endonuclease mapping and hybridization to specific 32P-labeled DNA probes indicated that more than 6 X 10(6) daltons of DNA were deleted from the variants. In each case, the deletion occurred on the left side of the genome and started very close to the junction of the inverted terminal repetition and unique sequence. Both variants also contained a new SstI side on the right side of the genome. Hybridization selection and cell-free translation experiments indicated that these variants lost the ability to synthesize at least eight early mRNA's mapping within the deleted region. Although the deleted DNA was not essential for replication of the WR strain of vaccinia virus under laboratory conditions of infection, it presumably has a defined role under other circumstances. This conclusion was based on the conservation within the Elstree strain of vaccinia, the Utrecht strain of rabbitpox, and the Brighton strain of cowpox virus of sequences homologous to the deleted DNA. Moreover, mRNA's that hybridized to the deleted vaccinia virus DNA segment and encoded similar size polypeptides were made in cells infected with rabbitpox and cowpox viruses.