Presented at the 19th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, Philadelphia, PA, Feb. 18-21, 1975; Published in Biophys. J. vol. 15: 137a (1975):

John H. Frenster, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305

Abstract:

Oncogenic viral genomes consist of at least two types of base sequences:
(1) sequences unique to neoplastic cells transformed by the virus, and
(2) sequences common to both neoplastic cells and normal cells (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 70: 2629 (1973).

The common sequences permit base-pairing between single strands of the viral genome and the genome of the susceptible host, freeing the resultant single strands of the host genome for messenger RNA synthesis during the gene de-repression associated with the neoplastic state (New Eng. J. Med. 288: 1224 (1973).

The unpaired portions of the pairing strands are potential sites of strand scission following BUDR or radiation (Int. J. Rad. Biol. 24: 517 (1973), allowing release of the viral genome with reversion of of the neoplastic cells toward normal phenotypic behavior (Virolgy 56: 152 (1973). RNA synthesis on the viral genome is restricted to unpaired strands of the viral genome as long as the virus remains integrated to the host genome (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 70: 2304 (1973).

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