Dataset Information

Gene arrangement within the unique long genome region of infectious laryngotracheitis virus is distinct from that of other alphaherpesviruses.

ABSTRACT: The genome of the avian alphaherpesvirus infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) comprises ca. 155 kbp of which ca. one-third have been sequenced so far. To gain additional sequence information we analyzed two stretches of 15.5 and 1.9 kbp of the ILTV unique long (U(L)) genome region. The larger fragment contains homologs of the herpes simplex virus (HSV) UL23 (thymidine kinase) and UL22 (glycoprotein H) genes followed by five open reading frames (ORF) encoding putative proteins of 334 to 410 amino acids which exhibit no homology to any known herpesvirus protein. RNA analyses showed that these unique ILTV genes are indeed expressed. An origin of replication separates this cluster of unique genes from a conserved gene cluster consisting of the UL45, UL46, UL48, UL49, UL49.5, and UL50 homologs. The absence of UL47 from this position coincides with the localization of a UL47-homologous ORF within the unique short (U(S)) region of the ILTV genome (M. Wild, S. Cook, and M. Cochran, Virus Genes 12:107-116, 1996). Within the second analyzed region the ILTV UL21 homolog was found adjacent to the UL44 gene. We thus identified five novel herpesvirus genes in ILTV and present evidence for a large internal inversion in the ILTV U(L) region, in contrast to the collinear genomes of other alphaherpesviruses. Interestingly, a similar inversion is also present in the porcine alphaherpesvirus pseudorabies virus.

SUBMITTER: Ziemann K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC109447 | biostudies-literature | 1998 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Gene arrangement within the unique long genome region of infectious laryngotracheitis virus is distinct from that of other alphaherpesviruses.

Ziemann K K Mettenleiter T C TC Fuchs W W

Journal of virology 19980101 1

The genome of the avian alphaherpesvirus infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) comprises ca. 155 kbp of which ca. one-third have been sequenced so far. To gain additional sequence information we analyzed two stretches of 15.5 and 1.9 kbp of the ILTV unique long (U(L)) genome region. The larger fragment contains homologs of the herpes simplex virus (HSV) UL23 (thymidine kinase) and UL22 (glycoprotein H) genes followed by five open reading frames (ORF) encoding putative proteins of 334 to 410 ...[more]

PMID: 9420298

Similar Datasets

Project description:Recombination is a feature of many alphaherpesviruses that infect people and animals. Infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV; Gallid alphaherpesvirus 1) causes respiratory disease in chickens, resulting in significant production losses in poultry industries worldwide. Natural (field) ILTV recombination is widespread, particularly recombination between attenuated ILTV vaccine strains to create virulent viruses. These virulent recombinants have had a major impact on animal health. Recently, the development of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping assay for ILTV has helped to understand ILTV recombination in laboratory settings. In this study, we applied this SNP genotyping assay to further examine ILTV recombination in the natural host. Following coinoculation of specific-pathogen-free chickens, we examined the resultant progeny for evidence of viral recombination and characterized the diversity of the recombinants over time. The results showed that ILTV replication and recombination are closely related and that the recombinant viral progeny are most diverse 4 days after coinoculation, which is the peak of viral replication. Further, the locations of recombination breakpoints in a selection of the recombinant progeny, and in field isolates of ILTV from different geographical regions, were examined following full-genome sequencing and used to identify recombination hot spots in the ILTV genome.IMPORTANCE Alphaherpesviruses are common causes of disease in people and animals. Recombination enables genome diversification in many different species of alphaherpesviruses, which can lead to the evolution of higher levels of viral virulence. Using the alphaherpesvirus infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV), we performed coinfections in the natural host (chickens) to demonstrate high levels of virus recombination. Higher levels of diversity in the recombinant progeny coincided with the highest levels of virus replication. In the recombinant progeny, and in field isolates, recombination occurred at greater frequency in recombination hot spot regions of the virus genome. Our results suggest that control measures that aim to limit viral replication could offer the potential to limit virus recombination and thus the evolution of virulence. The development and use of vaccines that are focused on limiting virus replication, rather than vaccines that are focused more on limiting clinical disease, may be indicated in order to better control disease.

Dataset Information

Gene arrangement within the unique long genome region of infectious laryngotracheitis virus is distinct from that of other alphaherpesviruses.

Publications

Gene arrangement within the unique long genome region of infectious laryngotracheitis virus is distinct from that of other alphaherpesviruses.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets