Protein coding content of the UL)b' region of wild-type rhesus cytomegalovirus

Virology. 2008 Mar 30;373(1):181-8. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2007.10.040. Epub 2008 Feb 20.

Abstract

A recent comparison of two rhesus cytomegalovirus (RhCMV) genomes revealed that the region at the right end of the U(L) genome component (U(L)b') undergoes genetic alterations similar to those observed in serially passaged human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). To determine the coding content of authentic wild-type RhCMV in this region, the U(L)b' sequence was amplified from virus obtained from naturally infected rhesus macaques without passage in vitro. A total of 24 open reading frames (ORFs) potentially encoding >99 amino acid residues were identified, 10 of which are related to HCMV ORFs and 15 to previously listed RhCMV ORFs. In addition, the analysis revealed a cluster of three novel alpha chemokine-like ORFs, bringing the number of predicted alpha chemokine genes in this region to six. Three of these six genes exhibit a high level of sequence diversity, as has been observed for the HCMV alpha chemokine gene UL146.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Chemokines / chemistry
  • Chemokines / genetics
  • Cytomegalovirus / chemistry
  • Cytomegalovirus / genetics*
  • Cytomegalovirus / isolation & purification
  • Cytomegalovirus Infections / veterinary*
  • Cytomegalovirus Infections / virology
  • Exons / genetics
  • Genome, Viral
  • Humans
  • Introns / genetics
  • Macaca mulatta / virology*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Monkey Diseases / virology
  • Open Reading Frames / genetics*
  • Viral Proteins* / chemistry
  • Viral Proteins* / genetics

Substances

  • Chemokines
  • Viral Proteins

Associated data

  • GENBANK/EF990255
  • GENBANK/EF990256
  • GENBANK/EU003822
  • GENBANK/EU130540