The bovine papilloma virus type 2 (BPV-2) L2 open reading frame (ORF) was cloned into a λ pL promoter expression vector. This clone was shown to express a fusion protein which comprised 75% of the BPV-2 ORF linked to the first 13 N-terminal amino acids of the λ cIl gene product. Antisera was generated against this fusion protein and subsequently used to identify the L2 gene product as a 64,000 dalton protein in BPV-2 virions. It was also demonstrated that the L2 viral protein was present in full caps ids, but only in very limited amounts in empty caps ids. Densitometer analysis indicated that the L2 protein comprised only 8% of the total L1 + L2 "Coomassie blue stainable" protein in full capsids. The antisera was also used to demonstrate that the BPV-2 L2 gene product is antigenically related to the BPV-1 L2 gene product. Finally, an attempt was made to determine the location of the L2 gene product within the capsid structure. Hemagglutination inhibition and enzyme-llnked-immunosorbent- assay data both indicate that the L2 protein is exposed on the surface of the capsid. Immune electron microscopy data was inconclusive in determining the location of the L2 gene product.