Transcription of viral late genes is dependent on expression of the viral intermediate gene G8R in cells infected with an inducible conditional-lethal mutant vaccinia virus.

There are three temporal classes of vaccinia virus genes: early, intermediate, and late. The object of this study was to determine the effects on virus replication of regulating the expression of G8R, an intermediate gene that encodes a late transcription factor. We inserted the lac operator adjacent to the RNA start site of the G8R gene in a recombinant vaccinia virus that constitutively expresses the Escherichia coli lac repressor to make expression of the G8R gene dependent on the inducer isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). In case repression would not be complete, we also weakened the promoter of the G8R gene by making a single-nucleotide substitution designed to reduce its basal level of transcription. The mutant virus replicated well in the presence of the inducer, although synthesis of the G8R-encoded 30,000-M(r) protein was only 10% of that of the wild-type virus. In the absence of IPTG, (i) synthesis of the G8R protein was inhibited by more than 99% relative to that of the wild-type virus, (ii) synthesis of early and intermediate mRNAs appeared to be unaffected, (iii) intermediate proteins accumulated to higher than normal levels, (iv) synthesis of late mRNA and protein was reduced by about 90%, (v) viral DNA was replicated but incompletely resolved concatemeric molecules accumulated, (vi) not even the earliest stages of virion assembly were detectable by transmission electron microscopy, and (vii) virus yield under one-step growth conditions and plaque formation were 10(-3) and 10(-4) times the wild-type values, respectively. The defect in late gene expression could be overcome by transfection of a G8R gene that was not under lac operator control, as well as by addition of IPTG, further demonstrating the specificity of the repression. The correlation between decreased expression of the G8R intermediate gene and inhibition of late mRNA synthesis is consistent with the notion that the G8R product serves as an essential late transcription factor and supports a cascade mechanism of vaccinia virus gene regulation. In addition, the inducer-dependent vaccinia virus mutant provided a tool for selective inhibition of late gene expression while allowing synthesis of early and intermediate mRNAs and proteins.