Characterization and nucleotide sequence of two herpes simplex virus 1 genes whose products modulate alpha-trans-inducing factor-dependent activation of alpha genes.

Herpes simplex viruses encode a structural protein which induces, in trans, expression of alpha genes, the first set of genes to be expressed after infection of permissive cells. This protein, designated as the alpha-trans-inducing factor (alpha-TIF), maps within the BamHI F fragment, and its gene has been sequenced. In the course of mapping the domain of the alpha-TIF gene, it was noted that the intact BamHI fragment was consistently more effective than the complete domain of the alpha-TIF gene in inducing expression of alpha genes. Cotransfections of DNA fragments containing an alpha indicator gene and the alpha-TIF gene with various regions of the BamHI F DNA fragment revealed that the sequences located 3' to the alpha-TIF gene raised the activity of the alpha-TIF gene to nearly the same level as that of the intact BamHI F fragment. The nucleotide sequence and S1 nuclease mapping analyses revealed the presence of two transcribed open reading frames capable of encoding polypeptides with translated molecular weights of 77,357 and 70,527. To determine whether the effect of these sequences in trans on alpha-TIF-mediated induction of alpha genes was due to expression of these genes or competition for transcriptional factors, we constructed plasmids that contained both genes. Into each or both of these genes we inserted, near the translation initiation sites, 14-base-pair linkers carrying translational stop codons (TAG) in all three reading frames. Analyses of these plasmids indicated that the gene encoding the 70,527-molecular-weight polypeptide reduced alpha-TIF-dependent induction of alpha genes, whereas the gene encoding the 77,357-molecular-weight polypeptide increased this activity. Insertion of the stop codons abolished these activities.