Herpes simplex virus type 1 recombination: role of DNA replication and viral a sequences.
During the course of infection, elements of the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) genome undergo inversion, a process that is believed to occur through the viral a sequences. To investigate the mechanism of this recombinational event, we have developed an assay that detects the deletion of DNA segments flanked by directly repeated a sequences in plasmids transiently maintained in Vero cells. With this assay, we have observed a high frequency of recombination (approximately 8%) in plasmids that undergo replication in HSV-1-infected cells. We also found a low level of recombination between a sequences in plasmids introduced into uninfected cells and in unreplicated plasmids in HSV-1-infected cells. In replicating plasmids, recombination between a sequences occurs at twice the frequency seen with directly repeated copies of a different sequence of similar size. Recombination between a sequences appears to occur at approximately the same time as replication, suggesting that the processes of replication and recombination are closely linked.
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Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, California 94305-5307.
Bruckner
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Mocarski
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Lehman
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D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004261:DNA Replication; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D007700:Kinetics; D010957:Plasmids; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000235:genetics*; D014709:Vero Cells
D004279:DNA, Viral