RNA-dependent DNA polymerase associated with equine infectious anemia virus.

Equine infectious anemia (EIAV) is shown to have an associated RNA-instructed DNA polymerase similar in its cofactor requirements and reaction conditions to the RNA tumor virus DNA polymerases. Demonstrating this DNA polymerase activity requires a critical concentration of a nonionic detergent, all four deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates, and a divalent metal ion. The reaction is sensitive to RNase, and a substantial fraction of the FNA synthesized is complementary to viral RNA. The detection of a complex of tritium-labeled polymerase product DNA-template RNA, which sedimented at 60S to 70S, provided evidence that EIAV contains high-molecular-weight RNA. These results, obtained with both virus propagated in cell culture and virus from the serum of an experimentally infected horse, indicate that EIAV may properly be considered a member of the family Retroviridae. They may also be pertinent to the mechanism(s) of viral persistence and periodic recrudescence of disease in chronically infected horses.