DNA synthesis in temperature-sensitive mutants of the cell cycle infected by polyoma virus and adenovirus.

tsAF8 cells are a temperature-sensitive (ts) mutant of BHK cells that are arrested in G1 at the nonpermissive temperature. When made quiescent by serum restriction, they can be stimulated to enter S phase by 10% serum at 34 degrees C but not at 40.6 degrees C. The same results can be obtained if quiescent cells are infected with polyoma virus or adenovirus 12 instead of serum. However, adenovirus 2 infection stimulates DNA synthesis in tsAF8 cells at both 34 degrees C and 40.6 degrees C. The DNA synthesized after adenovirus 2 infection has been shown to be cellular DNA by CsCl density centrifugation. By density labeling it can be shown that adenovirus 2-induced DNA synthesis is due to semiconservative replication. The difference between adenovirus 2 and polyoma (or serum) is also evident with another ts mutant of BHK cells, ts13 cells. These results open the possibility of identifying the viral or cellular mechanism at the basis of this difference in the induction of host DNA synthesis between adenovirus 2 and polyoma or serum.