title: Cloning and functional analysis of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus DNA polymerase and its processivity factor.
abstract: Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), or human herpesvirus 8, is a newly identified virus with tumorigenic potential. Here, we cloned and expressed the DNA polymerase (Pol-8) of KSHV and its processivity factor (PF-8). Pol-8 bound specifically to PF-8 in vitro. Moreover, the DNA synthesis activity of Pol-8 was shown in vitro to be strongly dependent on PF-8. Addition of PF-8 to Pol-8 allowed efficient synthesis of fully extended DNA products corresponding to the full-length M13 template (7,249 nucleotides), whereas Pol-8 alone could incorporate only several nucleotides. The specificity of PF-8 and Pol-8 for each other was demonstrated by their inability to be functionally replaced by the DNA polymerases and processivity factors of herpes simplex virus 1 and human herpesvirus 6.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Dental Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Ricciardi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000201:enzymology*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase