title: Complete sequence and analysis of the ovine herpesvirus 2 genome.
abstract: Ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2) is endemic in sheep populations worldwide and causes malignant catarrhal fever (MCF), a lymphoproliferative disease, in cattle, bison and deer. OvHV-2 has been placed in the gammaherpesvirus subfamily and is related closely to Alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1). Here, the cloning, sequencing and analysis of the complete OvHV-2 genome derived from a lymphoblastoid cell line from an affected cow (BJ1035) are reported. The unique portion of the genome consists of 130,930 bp, with a mean G+C content of 52 mol%. The unique DNA is flanked by multiple copies of terminal repeat elements 4205 bp in length, with a mean G+C content of 72 mol%. Analysis revealed 73 open reading frames (ORFs), the majority (62) of which showed homology to other gammaherpesvirus genes. A further subset of nine ORFs is shared with only the related AlHV-1. Three ORFs are entirely unique to OvHV-2, including a spliced homologue of cellular interleukin-10 that retains the exon structure of the cellular gene. The sequence of OvHV-2 is a critical first step in the study of the pathogenesis and treatment of MCF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ackermann
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Microbiology, School of Infection and Host Defence, University of Liverpool, Duncan Building, Daulby Street, Liverpool L69 3GA, UK.
authors.forename: Gamini
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jayawardane
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Haig
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Microbiology, School of Infection and Host Defence, University of Liverpool, Duncan Building, Daulby Street, Liverpool L69 3GA, UK.
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Stewart
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002460:Cell Line; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005814:Genes, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D018144:Rhadinovirus / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012756:Sheep / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral