Characterization of the simian adenovirus type 30 inverted terminal repeat.

ABSTRACT

The presence of an inverted terminal repeat (ITR), which plays an important role in the initiation of DNA replication, is one of the characteristic properties of adenoviruses (Ads). We have established the nucleotide (nt) sequences for the ITR of simian adenovirus type 30 (SV30), a subgroup-III oncogenic virus. This repeat consists of 185 nt, representing the longest ITR found in an Ad so far. It contains multiple copies of internal repeats, as well as the consensus sequences of the putative binding sites for replication and transcription factors. The conserved features of the known ITRs are also found in SV30. Interestingly, the ITR of SV30 is more closely related to that of Ad5 (human), than to that of SA7 (simian).