Cell killing by avian leukosis viruses.

Infection of chicken cells with a cytopathic avian leukosis virus resulted in the detachment of killed cells from the culture dish. The detached, dead cells contained more unintegrated viral DNA than the attached cells. These results confirm the hypothesis that cell killing after infection with a cytopathic avian leukosis virus is associated with accumulation of large amounts of unintegrated viral DNA. No accumulation of large amounts of integrated viral DNA was found in cells infected with cytopathic avian leukosis viruses.