Use of whole-cell fixation to visualize replicating and maturing simian virus 40: identification of new viral gene product.

Formaldehyde fixation of simian virus 40 (SV40)-infected CV-1 cells at appropriate times after infection permits us to isolate crosslinked complexes of SV40 minichromosomes during the time of DNA replication and during packaging with viral proteins. Such crosslinked complexes can be separated on the basis of density on CsCl/guanidine . HCl density gradients. During the course of these studies we observed the presence of a low molecular weight protein in a region of the gradient much enriched with viral nucleoproteins. This protein is present only in infected cells and has a molecular weight and amino acid composition consistent with it being the product of the so-called SV40 agnogene.