Comparison of the DNAs of varicella-zoster viruses isolated from clinical cases of varicella and herpes zoster

The DNA of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) has been characterized by sucrose gradient sedimentation and by isopycnic banding in CsCl. Comparisons of the DNAs from different clinical isolates have been made by mixing radiolabeled DNAs prior to centrifugation. VZV-DNA sedimented just behind T4 DNA on neutral sucrose gradients. Thus VZV-DNA has a molecular weight of about 100 x 10 6. There were no distinguishable differences in the sedimentation behavior in neutral sucrose gradients of the DNAs from several clinical VZV isolates. The buoyant density in CsCl of the DNA of VZV isolated from varicella was reproducibly slightly lighter than the buoyant density of the DNA of VZV isolated from herpes zoster.