Sensitive analysis of genetic heterogeneity of adenovirus types 3 and 7 in the Soviet Union.

An analysis of adenovirus strains isolated in the Soviet Union from 1976 to 1988 revealed four genome types of adenovirus type 3 (Ad3), i.e., Ad3a4, Ad3a9, Ad3a10, and Ad3a11, and four genome types of adenovirus type 7 (Ad7), i.e., Ad7p, Ad7a, Ad7a(1-5), and Ad7f1, identified with the DNA restriction enzymes BamHI, BglII, and HindIII. Three of them, Ad3a10, Ad3a11, and Ad7f1, are newly discovered. The genetic heterogeneity of adenoviruses was examined with restriction endonuclease Cfr13I with a 4-base recognition cleavage site. Eighteen different restriction patterns were identified among 21 selected Ad3 strains after cleavage of DNA with Cfr13I. Eight different subtypes were identified among 20 Ad7 strains by the same technique. For estimation of the relationships among these genome subtypes, pairwise analyses of comigrating DNA restriction fragments from isolates of Ad3 and Ad7 were done after digestion with Cfr13I or with restriction endonucleases recognizing DNA sequences of 6 bp. Surprisingly, the results were very discrepant.