Characterization of polyoma mutants with altered middle and large T-antigens.

The viable polyoma mutants dl1013, dl1014, and dl1015 produced shortened middle and large T-antigens. In mouse 3T3 cells, dl1013 and dl1014 grew at normal rates, and dl1015 grew at a reduced rate. dl1015 behaved phenotypically as a double mutant, with deficiencies both in the stimulation of the host cell and the replication of viral DNA. Only the former defect could be complemented by the ts-a mutant, which produced a normal middle T-antigen and a temperature-sensitive large T-antigen. This result suggests that middle T-antigen is involved in the induction of cellular DNA synthesis. Of the three mutants, dl1015 alone failed to transform rat fibroblasts to growth in semisolid medium. This defect could not be complemented by the ts-a mutant. Determination of the base sequences of the mutant DNAs showed that dl1013 and dl1014 had overlapping deletions of 21 and 9 base pairs, respectively, and that the dl1015 deletion of 30 base pairs was contiguous to the other mutations on their 3' sides. Analyses of the mutant t-antigens showed that all three mutants produced shortened middle T-antigens, whereas only dl1015 large T-antigen was detectably reduced in size.