ADENOVIRUS Adenovirus has a double-stranded, linear genome that is covalently
associated with a terminal protein (TP) at the 5' end of each DNA strand (Stillman, 198 1;Tamanoi and Stillman, 1982). The replication of the genome starts from its two ends.
Each origin of replication consists of four regions that are located within the inverted
terminal repeat (ITR) of the DNA ends (Challberg and Kelly, 1979). The origin core
sequence contains 18 bp binding sites for two viral proteins,the preterminal protein (pTP)and adenovirus DNA polymerase (Ad pol). The core sequence is responsible for the minimal level of initiation of DNA replication but higher levels of initiation require the presence of auxiliary sequences. The auxiliary region flanking the core sequence contains the binding sites for two cellular proteins, nuclear factor I (NFI) and octamer-binding protein (Oct- 1) or nuclear factor III (NFIII) (Armentero et al., 1994; Coenjaerts et al.,1994). The binding of the pTP/Ad pol to the origin core sequence and its interaction with these cellular factors play an important role in the assembly of the adenovirus replication complex (Challberg and Kelly. 1979).