title: The DNA sequence of equine herpesvirus 2.
abstract: The complete DNA sequence of equine herpesvirus 2 (EHV-2) strain 86/67 was determined. The genome is 184,427 bp in size and has a base composition of 57.5% G + C. Unusually for a herpesvirus, about a third of the sequence distributed in several large blocks appears not to encode proteins. The 79 open reading frames that were identified as probably polypeptide-coding are predicted to encode 77 distinct proteins. Amino acid sequence comparisons confirmed that EHV-2 is a gamma-herpesvirus that is genetically collinear with herpesvirus saimiri (HVS; a gamma 2-herpesvirus) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV; a gamma 1-herpesvirus), with a closer relationship to the former. Moreover, EHV-2 specifies eight proteins that have counterparts in HVS but not in EBV and only a single protein that has a homologue in EBV but not in HVS (EBV BCRF1, which encodes an interleukin 10-like protein). EHV-2 also encodes three potential G protein-coupled receptors, one with a counterpart in HVS that is specific for alpha chemokines, another with a counterpart in human cytomegalovirus (a beta-herpesvirus), which is specific for beta chemokines, and a third that is assigned more tentatively and lacks detectable counterparts in other herpesviruses.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, University of Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Telford
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Aird
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Davison
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001482:Base Composition; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018142:Gammaherpesvirinae / Q000235:genetics*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006567:Herpesvirus 2, Saimiriine / Q000235:genetics; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D014764:Viral Proteins; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins