title: Completion of the Lassa fever virus sequence and identification of a RING finger open reading frame at the L RNA 5' End.
abstract: Lassa (LAS) fever virus is a highly pathogenic arenavirus with large (L) and small (S) RNA genomic segments. The 5' end of the LAS L segment is described here, thereby completing the sequence of the most virulent arenavirus analyzed to date. In keeping with the ambisense gene structure of the arenaviruses, the LAS L RNA encodes a 250-kDa protein and an 11-kDa protein in opposite senses with respect to each other. The 11-kDa protein, defined previously in arenaviruses lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM), Tacaribe (TAC), and Pichinde (PIC), contains a RING type of zinc-binding structure. Expression of the 11-kDa protein in LAS virus-infected cells has been confirmed by binding to peptide-specific antibody.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin Medical School, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Djavani
authors.forename: I S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Lukashevich
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Nichol
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Salvato
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D007836:Lassa virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014709:Vero Cells; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D012367:RNA, Viral