The molecular biology of Yaba tumour pox virus: analysis of lipids, proteins and DNA.

Cytopathological studies have shown that Yaba tumour pox virus (Yaba virus) infection leads to the accumulation of large lipid vacuoles. The rate of accumulation of these vacuoles increased as the infection proceeded. These lipid vacuoles were not seen in control cells or in cells infected with monkeypox virus (MPV) but were seen during Yaba virus infection in the presence of cytosine arabinofuranoside (100 microgram/ml). Yaba virus also failed to inhibit host protein synthesis as infection proceeded for prolonged periods. Yaba virus proteins were shown to be substantially different from those of MPV when analysed by two-dimensional electrophoresis. The genome of Yaba virus gave restriction enzyme fragments which differed from those of the MPV genome when cleaved with the enzymes HindIII and XhoI. However, Yaba virus DNA hybridized to the HindIII fragments K, L and M and to the XhoI fragments A, B, C, E and G of MPV DNA.