Sequencing of human cytomegalovirus TB40E BAC recombinants
We are exploring the role of two human cytomegalovirus viral genes in controlling the viral life cycle. The viral gene UL138 reduces viral replication to enter into a latent state of infection where the virus is quiet in the host. The viral gene UL135 promotes viral replication so that the virus can reactivate and become active in the host again. We have created viruses that cannot make either UL138 (UL138stop) or UL135 (UL135stop) to better study the roles of these genes. Here, we have sequenced these viral genomes to ensure that the proper mutations were made. The wildtype (WT) virus was also sequenced for comparison.