Abstract
Simian Virus 40 (SV40), a prototypical polyomavirus, has been a cornerstone of DNA virus molecular biology for the past 65 years. Recent advancements have shed light on several key processes. These include dissecting the stages leading to the transport of bound SV40 to the nucleus of the infected cell, understanding how chromatin structure contributes to the regulation of early and late transcription, characterizing the role of T-antigen during DNA replication, and determining how an SV40 infected cell is killed, and newly generated progeny viruses are released. Despite this progress, critical questions remain, including how the biological fates of chromosomes are determined and how functionally distinct chromosomes coexist in infected cells. This review discusses these recent advancements in SV40 biology.