The gene and messenger RNA for adenovirus polypeptide IX

A small RNA species, distinct from the VA RNAs, has been identified in HeLa cells infected with adenovirus type 2. The RNA, which has been purified using a novel screening procedure, is polyadenylated, sediments at 9S and has an estimated length of 550 nucleotides. In a cell-free translation system, the 9S RNA directs the synthesis of virion polypeptide IX, molecular weight 12,000 daltons. The location of its gene has been established by hybridization of the RNA to fragments of viral DNA produced by cleavage with restriction endonucleases: it spans position 10.0 on the r strand of the viral genome. These results unexpectedly place the gene for a “late” protein within a region of the genome which is transcribed early during infection.