Hybridization between a repeated region of herpes simplex virus type 1 DNA containing the sequence [GGC]n and heterodisperse cellular DNA and RNA.

A small DNA fragment containing the simple sequence [GGC]10 from the long repeat of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) DNA hybridized to cellular DNA and polyadenylated RNA from different mammalian species. The number and intensity of blot hybridization signals were increased in human compared with rodent and simian nucleic acids. The hybridization was blocked specifically by human 28S ribosomal DNA, which shares only the GGC repeats with the herpes simplex virus DNA. These data indicate that GGC repeats were common components of cellular DNA and were expressed in mRNA. Blot hybridization analysis of viral RNA from the HSV-1 gene regions encompassing the GGC repeats revealed abundant stable mRNAs from portions of the virus genome not previously analyzed in detail and indicated that the viral GGC sequence was not expressed in stable cytoplasmic mRNA.