Characterization of the mRNA for herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase by cell-free synthesis of active enzyme.

The cytoplasmic mRNA which codes for the herpes simplex virus specific thymidine kinase (TK) is polyadenylated and is 14.5s in size. This corresponds to an RNA of 1400 nucleotides. The TK polypeptide is about 42,000 daltons, which requires 1100 nucleotide. We conclude that the cytoplasmic mRNA is monocistronic. The reticulocyte lysate cell-free translation system synthesizes enzymatically active HSV-TK which can be assayed with high specificity and sensitivity by use of 125I-iododeoxycytidine as a substrate.