We have recently demonstrated pausing and premature termination of transcription by eucaryotic RNA polymerase II at specific sites in the major late transcriptional unit of adenovirus type 2 in vivo and in vitro. In further developing this as a system for studying eucaryotic termination control, we found that prematurely terminated transcripts of 175 and 120 nucleotides also occur in adenovirus type 5-infected cells. In both cases, premature termination occurs temporally, being found only during late times of infection, not at early times before DNA replication or immediately after the onset of DNA replication when late gene expression has begun (intermediate times). To examine the phenomenon of premature termination further, a temperature-sensitive mutant virus, adenovirus type 5 ts107, was used to uncouple DNA replication and transcription. DNA replication is defective in this mutant at restrictive temperatures. We found that premature termination is inducible at intermediate times by shifting from a permissive temperature to a restrictive temperature, allowing continuous transcription in the absence of continuous DNA replication. No premature termination occurs when the temperature is shifted up at early times before DNA replication. Our data suggest that premature termination of transcription is dependent on both prior synthesis of new templates and cumulative late gene transcription but does not require continuous DNA replication.