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We have analyzed the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire found in the major histocompatibility complex class I‐restricted cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response to the protein ovalbumin (OVA). Despite skewing towards the expression of Vβ5.2⁺ TCR by OVA‐specific CTL from C57BL/6 mice, we found a relatively high degree of diversity in V(D)J usage in both TCR α‐ and β‐chains. Closer examination showed that the majority of these sequences encoded negatively and positively charged residues at their respective TCR α‐ and β‐chain VJ or VDJ junctions. These junctions form the third complementarity‐determining regions (CDR3) of the TCR polypeptides involved in the direct interaction with the class I‐bound peptide. Crystallographic analyses of K^b‐peptide complexes predict that the major determinant from OVA, peptide OVA_257–264 (SIINFEKL), contains two exposed charged side chains which can contact the …