title: Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) open reading frame 59 encodes an early protein that is localized to the cytosol and required for efficient virus growth.
abstract: Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) ORF59 is predicted to encode a protein consisting of 180 amino acids. To determine whether ORF59 in fact encodes a protein, sequences encoding an HA epitope (YPYDVPDYA) was inserted at the carboxyterminus of the ORF59 protein in EHV-1 strain Ab4. Using anti-HA monoclonal antibodies, a 21-kDa band was specifically detected by western blot analysis in lysates of cells infected with a recombinant EHV-1 from strain Ab4 that carries the pORF59-HA but not in cells infected with parental Ab4. Further characterization of the protein using immunofluorescence and fractionation studies showed that pORF59 is an early protein that localizes to the cytosol in virus-infected cells. Recombinant EHV-1 lacking ORF59 (rAb4∆59) exhibited a small-plaque phenotype and could not be propagated. Our findings suggest that the ORF59 protein plays a major role in EHV-1 replication in vitro and likely in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Virologie, Zentrum für Infektionsmedizin - Robert von Ostertag-Haus, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, Germany; Parasitology and Animal Diseases Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Giza, Egypt.
authors.forename: Abdelrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Said
authors.affiliation: Institut für Virologie, Zentrum für Infektionsmedizin - Robert von Ostertag-Haus, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: no.34@fu-berlin.de.
authors.forename: Nikolaus
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Osterrieder
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003600:Cytosol / Q000821:virology*; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D004861:Herpesvirus 1, Equid / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D006736:Horses; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D021381:Protein Transport; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins
keywords: EHV-1; ORF59 gene; Protein characterization