Identification by antibody to a synthetic peptide of a protein specified by a diploid gene located in the terminal repeats of the L component of herpes simplex virus genome.

In the course of studies on the a sequences located at the termini of and at the junction between the L and S components of herpes simplex virus 1 DNA, J. Chou and B. Roizman (J. Virol. 57:629-637, 1986) noted that the a sequence acted as a gamma 1 promoter when fused to the structural sequence of the thymidine kinase gene, the b inverted repeat sequences located in the L component next to the a sequences contained an open reading frame predicted to encode the protein of 358 amino acids with a molecular weight of 37,054, and the transcription of an RNA homologous to the open reading frame initiated within the a sequence. The nucleotide sequence of the open reading frame predicted the presence of the triplet Ala-Thr-Pro repeated 10 times. To verify the existence of the predicted gene, designated gamma 134.5, a synthetic peptide consisting of the triplet Ala-Thr-Pro repeated 10 times was synthesized and used to raise antibodies in rabbits. The results were as follows. The antiserum to the peptide reacted with a 43,500-apparent-molecular-weight protein present in lysates of cells infected with herpes simplex virus 1 but not present in mock-infected or herpes simplex virus 2-infected cells. We genetically engineered a recombinant virus containing a single copy of a truncated gene. Concordant with predictions, the antibody reacted with a faster-migrating protein in cells infected with this recombinant. The gamma 134.5 gene product was soluble, and it accumulated primarily in the cytoplasm late in infection. The overlap of the domain of the gamma 134.5 gene with the a sequence raises the possibility that it acts in trans on the a sequence and is associated with one of the functions currently ascribed to the a sequences.