Kinetics of DNA and histone messenger RNA synthesis in CV-1 monkey kidney cells infected with simian virus 40.

Histone messenger RNA has been identified in CV-1 monkey kidney cells and its synthesis during the simian virus 40 (SV40) productive cycle has been correlated with the synthesis of cellular DNA and viral DNA. In cultures of CV-1 cells that have reached confluence, infection with SV40/5 (a high-yield clone of SV40) promotes an increase in the rate of cellular DNA synthesis followed by a decline. During this decline the rate of viral DNA synthesis continues to rise and eventually surpasses that of cellular DNA.The synthesis of histone mRNA rises concomitantly with the increase in the synthesis of cellular DNA. This occurs in a fashion similar to that observed when confluent CV-1 cultures are stimulated by the addition of fresh serum to the growth medium. However, whereas in cells stimulated with serum the synthesis of histone mRNA closely parallels that of cellular DNA, in cells infected with SV40, histone mRNA synthesis continues at a high rate even after the decline of cellular DNA synthesis. The rate of histone mRNA synthesis thus appears to he coupled to the total (cellular plus viral) DNA synthesis and not to the synthesis of the host DNA alone. The high rate of synthesis of the F1 histone at late times after infection suggests that histone genes are transcribed co-ordinately.