title: Cloning, sequencing, and functional analysis of a Marek's disease virus origin of DNA replication.
abstract: Previously, we isolated a replicon from a defective Marek's disease virus (MDV), analogous to defective herpes simplex viruses (amplicons). Defective viruses contain cis-acting elements required for DNA synthesis and virus propagation such as an origin of DNA replication and a packaging-cleavage signal site. In this report, the MDV replicon was utilized to locate an origin of MDV DNA replication. A comparison of MDV replicon sequences with other herpesvirus replication origin sequences revealed a 90-bp sequence containing 72% identity to the lytic origin (oris) of herpes simplex virus type 1. This 90-bp sequence displayed no similarity to betaherpesvirus or gammaherpesvirus replication origins. The 90-bp sequence is arranged as an imperfect palindrome centered around an A+T-rich region. This sequence also contains a 9-bp motif (5'CGTTCGCAC3') highly conserved in alphaherpesvirus replication origins. To test functionality of the 90-bp putative MDV replication origin, we conducted DpnI replication assays with subclones generated from the 4-kbp MDV replicon. A 700-bp MDV replicon subfragment containing the 90-bp putative MDV replication origin sequence is capable of replicating in chicken embryo fibroblast cells cotransfected with helper virus DNA. In conclusion, we identified a functional origin of DNA replication in MDV. Similarity of MDV origin sequences to those of alphaherpesviruses supports the current contention that MDV is more closely related to alphaherpesviruses than to gammaherpesviruses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Camp
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Coussens
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002645:Chickens; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000235:genetics*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006564:Herpesviridae / Q000235:genetics; D008381:Herpesvirus 2, Gallid / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010957:Plasmids; D012093:Replicon; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral