Identification of the infectious laryngotracheitis virus glycoprotein gB gene by the polymerase chain reaction.

The infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) homologue of the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein B (gB) gene was identified by PCR amplification of genomic ILTV DNA. A 488-bp amplified DNA fragment was used to identify and clone two adjacent PstI fragments from genomic ILTV DNA. Sequence analysis of the region surrounding the amplified fragment identified a 2619-bp open reading frame that has 39% homology with both the nucleotide and amino-acid sequences of the HSV-1 gB gene. Northern blot analysis using a portion of the open reading frame as a probe identified a 2.7-kb RNA transcript in ILTV-infected chicken embryo liver cells. Analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence of the ILTV protein indicated that it shares structural features with the gB glycoproteins of other herpesviruses.