Hondo R, Yogo Y, Yoshida M, Fujima A, Itoh S
Department of Pathology, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Jpn J Exp Med. 1989 Dec;59(6):233-7.
We have analyzed 53 varicella-zoster virus (VZV) strains isolated in Japan for the presence of a PstI cleavage site in a middle portion of the long unique region of VZV genome. About 25% of the strains examined did not have this PstI cleavage site, although the majority of strains retained this site. For several VZV strains lacking this PstI cleavage site, we sequenced a recombinant DNA-derived short segment containing the mutation. In all strains analyzed, we identified a base replacement from A to G within the PstI recognition sequence. Because no wild-type VZV strain carrying this mutation has been found so far in other countries, it is very likely that the mutation once occurred in the past and has been conserved in some strains in Japan. We have concluded that the PstI-site-less mutation is reliable marker for discrimination of VZV strains in Japan.
我们分析了在日本分离出的53株水痘带状疱疹病毒（VZV），以检测VZV基因组长独特区域中部是否存在PstI切割位点。尽管大多数菌株保留了该位点，但约25%的检测菌株没有这个PstI切割位点。对于几株缺乏该PstI切割位点的VZV菌株，我们对包含该突变的重组DNA衍生短片段进行了测序。在所有分析的菌株中，我们在PstI识别序列内鉴定到一个从A到G的碱基替换。由于目前在其他国家尚未发现携带此突变的野生型VZV菌株，很可能该突变曾在过去发生，并在日本的一些菌株中得以保留。我们得出结论，无PstI位点突变是区分日本VZV菌株的可靠标记。
