Defective Marek's disease virus DNA contains a gene encoding a potential nuclear DNA binding protein and a HSV a-like sequence.
Four RNA transcripts from chicken embryo fibroblast cells infected with Marek's disease virus (MDV) strain 281Ml/1 hybridized to the 4-kbp MDV replicon DNA. In an attempt to identify open reading frames coding for the four transcripts, we determined the nucleotide sequences of 4-kbp replicon DNA (represents a single monomeric repeat unit of defective MDV genome). Computer analysis indicates that the 4-kbp MDV replicon DNA contains two intact open reading frames (ORFs) with common promoter regulatory elements. ORF-A codes for a putative 204 amino acid protein that shares 21 and 36% amino acid sequence identity to nuclear DNA binding proteins such as the EBNA-1 of Epstein-Barr virus and galline, a chicken sperm histone protein, respectively. ORF-B encodes for a potential 350 amino acid protein, which did not show any significant amino acid sequence identity to known protein sequences within Swiss-Protein data base. ORF-B may, therefore, encode a MDV specific protein. The 5'-region of MDV replicon DNA revealed seven reiterated copies of an 11-bp motif sharing 8 out of 11 nucleotide sequence identity to DR2 elements of the herpes simplex virus strain USA-8 a sequence.
Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824.
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Coussens
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002645:Chickens; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D003673:Defective Viruses / Q000235:genetics*; D005347:Fibroblasts; D005814:Genes, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D008381:Herpesvirus 2, Gallid / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D012093:Replicon / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000235:genetics; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D014779:Virus Replication
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014764:Viral Proteins