title: Identification, sequence, and expression of the gene encoding a Mr 35,000 subunit of the vaccinia virus DNA-dependent RNA polymerase.
abstract: The gene rpo35, encoding a subunit of the vaccinia virus DNA-dependent RNA polymerase, was identified, and its RNA and protein products were characterized. An Mr 35,000 polypeptide, which bound antibody to the purified RNA polymerase, was synthesized in reticulocyte lysates programmed with viral mRNA that hybridized to a 2,300-base pair segment of the viral genome. Determination of the sequence of the DNA segment revealed four potential protein coding regions, none of which had evident similarity to any described RNA polymerase subunit of prokaryotes or eukaryotes. One open reading frame that could encode a 35,400-Da protein was identified as rpo35 on the basis of mRNA hybridization, cell-free translation, and immunoprecipitation. The identification was confirmed by sequencing tryptic peptides of the authentic Mr 35,000 RNA polymerase subunit. Antiserum to the purified recombinant protein, expressed in bacteria, reacted specifically with a Mr 35,000 polypeptide that was detected starting 2 h after virus infection and that co-sedimented with RNA polymerase purified from virions. RNA analyses indicated that the 5'-end of an early transcript started 25 nucleotides upstream of rpo35, which is consistent with the location of an early promoter consensus sequence.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
authors.forename: B Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Amegadzie
authors.forename: B Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moss
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D005814:Genes, Viral; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014616:Vaccinia virus / Q000235:genetics*; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012367:RNA, Viral; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases