Characterization of the repetitive DNA elements in the genome of fish lymphocystis disease viruses.

The complete DNA nucleotide sequence of the repetitive DNA elements in the genome of fish lymphocystis disease virus (FLDV) isolated from two different species (flounder and dab) was determined. The size of these repetitive DNA elements was found to be 1413 bp which corresponds to the DNA sequences of the 5' terminus of the EcoRI DNA fragment B (0.034 to 0.052 m.u.) and to the EcoRI DNA fragment M (0.718 to 0.736 m.u.) of the FLDV genome causing lymphocystis disease in flounder and plaice. The degree of DNA nucleotide homology between both regions was found to be 99%. The repetitive DNA element in the genome of FLDV isolated from other fish species (dab) was identified and is located within the EcoRI DNA fragment B and J of the viral genome. The DNA nucleotide sequence of one duplicate of this repetition (EcoRI DNA fragment J) was determined (1410 bp) and compared to the DNA nucleotide sequences of the repetitive DNA elements of the genome of FLDV isolated from flounder. It was found that the repetitive DNA elements of the genome of FLDV derived from two different fish species are highly conserved and possess a degree of DNA sequence homology of 94%. The DNA sequences of each strand of the individual repetitive element possess one open reading frame.