Sequence and genetic arrangement of the U(S) region of the monkey B virus (cercopithecine herpesvirus 1) genome and comparison with the U(S) regions of other primate herpesviruses

Abstract

The sequence of the unique short (U(S)) region of monkey B virus (BV) was determined. The 13 genes identified are arranged in the same order and orientation as in herpes simplex virus (HSV). These results demonstrate that the BV U(S) region is entirely colinear with that of HSV type 1 (HSV-1), HSV-2, and simian agent 8 virus.

FIG. 1.

Genetic organization of the BV strain E2490 U_S region. ORFs predicted to encode proteins and their orientations are indicated by large arrows. The locations of transcriptional termination signals (AATAAA, followed by GT tracts) are indicated by vertical dashed lines. The proposed mRNA transcriptional map of the region is indicated by arrows located below the ORF map. IR_L, inverted long repeat; IR_S, inverted short repeat.

FIG. 2.

Alignment of immediate-early ICP22 (US1) polypeptides. Residues which are identical in all three sequences are shown with a black background; conservative residues are with a gray background. Degenerate repeats in the BV and HSV-1 sequences are identified by underlining. The Met in the HSV-1 sequence at which the proposed US1.5 protein initiates is indicated by “▴” below the aligned sequences. Note that neither BV nor HSV-2 have a Met residue near this HSV-1 Met codon.

FIG. 3.

Phylogenetic relationship of BV genotypes based on the US4 gG coding sequences. Predicted amino acid sequences were aligned and phylogenetic analyses performed as described previously (35). The tree shown was generated by using gamma distance estimates and neighbor-joining tree construction. Values represent bootstrap confidence intervals. BV genotypes isolated from rhesus (BVrh), cynomolgus (BVcy), lion-tailed (BVlt), and pigtailed (BVpt) macaques are indicated.