Nigro O, Yu G, Aguirre A Alonso, Lu Y
Retrovirology Research Laboratory, Pacific Biomedical Research Center, University of Hawaii Manoa, Hawaii, USA.
Arch Virol. 2004 Feb;149(2):337-47. doi: 10.1007/s00705-003-0204-8. Epub 2003 Sep 19.
Through 4 consecutive genomic walks employing a recently modified inverse polymerase chain reaction technique, a 4,054-bp DNA fragment of a newfound green turtle herpesvirus (GTHV) was obtained from tumor tissues of a green turtle with fibropapillomas. This newly identified viral DNA fragment contains two non-overlapping open reading frames (ORF) oriented in the 3' to 5' direction. The first ORF is 59% G+C rich and contains the full-length genomic sequence of the DNA binding protein (DBP) gene (3,585 bp) encoding a protein of 1,195 amino acid residues in length. The second ORF encodes a partial peptide of the UL28 gene. Phylogenetic analysis of the GTHV DBP gene confirmed and substantiated that this novel Chelonian herpesvirus is closely related to the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae. Examination of the translated amino acid sequence further supports this categorization since GTHV DBP comprises a highly conserved zinc finger motif (CXLCX4RX2C) and a putative DNA binding domain, and exhibits high sequence homology to other alphaherpesviruses. Cloning and sequencing the genome of this putative herpesvirus will facilitate current understanding of its role in causing GTFP and the development of molecular- and immuno-based methods for the diagnosis and prevention of this devastating disease of green turtles.
通过采用最近改良的反向聚合酶链反应技术进行连续4次基因组步移，从一只患有纤维乳头瘤的绿海龟的肿瘤组织中获得了一段4054碱基对的新发现的绿海龟疱疹病毒（GTHV）DNA片段。这个新鉴定出的病毒DNA片段包含两个非重叠的开放阅读框（ORF），方向为3'到5'。第一个ORF富含59%的G+C，包含DNA结合蛋白（DBP）基因的全长基因组序列（3585碱基对），编码一个长度为1195个氨基酸残基的蛋白质。第二个ORF编码UL28基因的部分肽段。对GTHV DBP基因的系统发育分析证实并支持了这种新型龟疱疹病毒与α疱疹病毒亚科密切相关。对翻译后的氨基酸序列的检查进一步支持了这种分类，因为GTHV DBP包含一个高度保守的锌指基序（CXLCX4RX2C）和一个假定的DNA结合结构域，并且与其他α疱疹病毒表现出高度的序列同源性。克隆和测序这种假定的疱疹病毒的基因组将有助于当前对其在引起绿海龟纤维乳头瘤病中的作用的理解，以及开发基于分子和免疫的方法来诊断和预防这种对绿海龟具有毁灭性的疾病。
