Analysis of retroviral proteins by two-step DNA, zinc binding, and modified Southern-western blotting.

Using Southern-Western and zinc-blotting techniques, the interactions of single-stranded DNA and zinc with structural proteins of type B, C, and D retroviruses were examined. Besides nucleic capsid proteins of retroviruses known to form complexes with nucleic acids, some other core proteins of type C retroviruses were shown to bind nucleic acids. All nucleic capsid proteins of the examined retroviruses appeared to be also zinc binding.