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Title: THE GENOMIC STRUCTURE OF MAREK'S DISEASE VIRUS

Author
item Silva, Robert
item Lee, Lucy
item Kutish, Gerald

Submitted to: Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/19/1999
Publication Date: 12/31/2000
Citation: SILVA, R.F., LEE, L.F., KUTISH, G.F. THE GENOMIC STRUCTURE OF MAREK'S DISEASE VIRUS. HIRAI, K. EDITOR. SPRINGER-VERLAG, NEW YORK. CURRENT TOPICS IN MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY. 2000. V. 255. P. 143-158.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Comparison of the complete DNA sequence from two oncogenic serotype 1 Marek's disease viruses (MDVs), turkey herpesvirus (HVT) and the partial DNA sequence from a serotype 2 MDV, clearly shows how the MDV viruses are organized and how they relate to one another. The extreme high collinearity of some MDV genes with herpes simplex virus (HSV) genes and the suggestion that MDV may be more closely related to equine herpesvirus than to HSV or varicella-zoster virus, was unexpected. In addition, the repeat regions of serotype 1 MDV are completely different from the repeats in HVT. The identified ORFs are divided into three classes. The first class consists of the MDV genes that are homologous to other known alpha-herpesviruses. The MDV homologues of UL1 through UL54 fall into this class. A second class consists of the MDV genes that are shared by all three serotypes, but are not found in other herpesvirus genomes. The third class consists of the ORFs that are uniquely present in serotype 1 MDVs, but not present in HVT or serotype 2 MDVs. Presumably, genes in this class would be responsible for the pathogenic and oncogenic potential of serotype 1 MDVs.