title: The human herpesvirus 6 U21-U24 gene cluster is dispensable for virus growth.
abstract: Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) is a T-lymphotrophic virus belongs to the genus Roseolovirus within the beta herpesvirus subfamily. The U20-U24 gene cluster is unique to Roseoloviruses; however, both their function and whether they are essential for virus growth is unknown. Recently, bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) techniques have been used to investigate HHV-6A. This study describes generation of a virus genome lacking U21-U24 (HHV-6ABACΔU21-24) and shows that infectious virus particles can be reconstituted from this BAC DNA. Our data indicate that the HHV-6 U21-U24 gene cluster is dispensable for virus propagation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Virology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Hyogo, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
authors.forename: Chyntia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jasirwan
authors.forename: Huamin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kawabata
authors.forename: Yasuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mori
mesh_terms: D022202:Chromosomes, Artificial, Bacterial; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005814:Genes, Viral; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D005810:Multigene Family; D059386:Reverse Genetics; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014771:Virion / Q000502:physiology; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins
keywords: U21; U24; bacterial artificial chromosome; human herpesvirus-6