Phosphonoacetic acid-resistant RNA of Epstein-Barr virus in productively infected cells.

The transcription of Epstein-Barr virus genome in productively infected B95-8 cells in the presence or absence of phosphonoacetic acid (PAA) was studied. Twenty-eight species of cytoplasmic poly(A)-containing virus mRNA were identified as PAA resistant. Some of these viral mRNAs were not detected in the absence of PAA. The most actively transcribed fragments of cloned EBV DNA in the presence of PAA were BamHI H (map unit 29.1-32.5) and M (47.3-50.3). The treatment of TPA-induced B95-8 cells with cycloheximide abolished most cytoplasmic viral poly(A) RNAs, and only three species of viral mRNA (0.7, 1.0, and 1.6 megadaltons) were detectable by hybridization with the BamHI M fragment.