Isolation and characterization of the genes for two small RNAs of herpesvirus papio and their comparison with Epstein-Barr virus-encoded EBER RNAs.

Genes for the Epstein-Barr virus-encoded RNAs (EBERs), two low-molecular-weight RNAs encoded by the human gammaherpesvirus Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), hybridize to two small RNAs in a baboon cell line that contains a similar virus, herpesvirus papio (HVP). The genes for the HVP RNAs (HVP-1 and HVP-2) are located together in the small unique region at the left end of the viral genome and are transcribed by RNA polymerase III in a rightward direction, similar to the EBERs. There is significant similarity between EBER1 and HVP-1 RNA, except for an insert of 22 nucleotides which increases the length of HVP-1 RNA to 190 nucleotides. There is less similarity between the sequences of EBER2 and HVP-2 RNA, but both have a length of about 170 nucleotides. The predicted secondary structure of each HVP RNA is remarkably similar to that of the respective EBER, implying that the secondary structures are important for function. Upstream from the initiation sites of all four RNA genes are several highly conserved sequences which may function in the regulation of transcription. The HVP RNAs, together with the EBERs, are highly abundant in transformed cells and are efficiently bound by the cellular La protein.