in view of the growing occurrence rate of the virus-induced hepatitis b and also of the special role played by this particular virus ( hbv ) in the application of recombinant genetic techniques to the study of complex biological systems , an attempt was made to survey the available evidence concerning the widely investigated and practically the most important part of the viral genome , viz . the gene coding for the surface antigen ( hbsag ) and the protein itself .
C0019163
virus
C0019168
hbsag