title: Potential virulence determinants in terminal regions of variola smallpox virus genome.
abstract: Smallpox eradication culminated the most successful antimicrobial campaign in medical history. To characterize further the linear double-stranded DNA genome of the aetiological agent of smallpox, we have determined the entire nucleotide sequence of the highly virulent variola major virus, strain Bangladesh-1975 (VAR-BSH; 186,102 base pairs, 33.7% G + C; Genbank accession number, L22579). Here we highlight features of the molecule and focus on a few of the 187 putative proteins that probably contribute to pathogenicity and virus host-range properties. One hundred and fifty proteins were markedly similar to those of vaccinia virus (smallpox vaccine), for which a complete sequence has been reported for strain Copenhagen (VAC-CPN; 191,636 base pairs, 33.3% G + C). The remaining 37 proteins reflected variola-specific sequences or open reading frame divergences for variant proteins, which are often truncated or elongated compared with their vaccinia counterparts.
authors.affiliation: Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Massung
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Utterback
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aubin
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Yuran
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Parsons
authors.forename: V N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Loparev
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014616:Vaccinia virus / Q000235:genetics; D012901:Variola virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins