Studies on the synthesis and structure of mitochondrial DNA in cells infected by Rous sarcoma viruses and on the occurrence of intramitochondrial virus like particles in certain RSV induced tumor cells

1. The synthesis of mitochondrial DNA in CEF in vivo at 3,4 and 6 days after infection with RSV (Schmidt-Ruppin, subgroup A) was progressively stimulated 2 to 4-fold as compared with that in uninfected CEF cells grown in parallel. 2. The stimulation of mtDNA synthesis in vivo upon transformation was found to be temperature dependent when the thermosensitive mutant of RSV, T5, was used to infect the cells. 3. In contrast to mtDNA synthesis, nuclear DNA synthesis did not differ in transformed and uninfected cells, nor did it change significantly upon temperature shifts. 4. MtDNA (monomeric and catenated dimeric forms) in transformed and uninfected CEF replicate by displacement synthesis. Various replication intermediates are described. 5. The restriction endonuclease EcoRI cleaves closed circular mtDNA from CEF at one specific site. 6. Heteroduplex molecules formed between nicked circular and/or EcoRI cleaved mt DNA molecules from uninfected and transformed CEF revealed, with a few exceptions, no detectable base sequence heterogeneity in at least 98% of cases. 7. Intramitochondrial virus like particles (IMV) are described in hamster tumor cells. The evidence suggests both engulfment of cytoplasmic particles by mitochondria and the presence of intramitochondrial incomplete forms of particles. Bromodeoxyuridine was found to enhance the frequency of IMV.