Sequence and transcriptional analysis of the vaccinia virus HindIII I fragment.

The complete sequence of the vaccinia virus HindIII I fragment, which is composed of 6,498 base pairs, encodes six complete and two incomplete open reading frames (ORFs). Computer analysis revealed an amino acid sequence homology between ORF I 4 and the large subunit of the ribonucleotide reductase complex. The two small polypeptides derived from ORFs I 2 and I 5, with molecular weights of 8,500 and 8,700, respectively, have a very high hydrophobic amino acid sequence composition. S1 analysis revealed that ORF I 4 is expressed at early stages of infection, ORFs I 1, I 2, I 5, and I 7 are expressed in the late phase of infection, and ORF I 3 is constitutively expressed. Screening a vaccinia virus genomic library revealed a large vaccinia virus insert overlapping the HindIII I and O fragments which contains a previously undetected HindIII P fragment of approximately 300 base pairs. S1 analysis revealed an early (O1) and a late (O2) start site of transcription initiation located within the HindIII O fragment.