Marek's disease virus type 1-specific phosphorylated proteins pp38 and pp24 with common amino acid termini are encoded from the opposite junction regions between the long unique and inverted repeat sequences of viral genome.

The nucleotide sequence of the junction region between the long unique (UL) and terminal inverted repeat (TRL) sequences of Marek's disease (MD) virus type 1 (MDV1) DNA revealed the presence of a rightward open reading frame of 155 amino acids. The ORF inserted into an eukaryotic expression vector transiently expressed an antigen in the cytoplasm of COS7 cells which reacted with the monoclonal antibody M21 against an MDV1-specific phosphorylated protein complex consisting of at least the proteins pp38 and pp24. In addition, RNA synthesized in vitro from the ORF under the control of the T7 promoter was translated in vitro using rabbit reticulocyte lysates. A polypeptide of about 24 kDa was immunoprecipitated with M21 antibody. Thus, the MDV1-specific phosphorylated proteins pp38 and pp24 with common amino termini are encoded in the opposite junction regions between the UL and IRL and between the UL and TRL, respectively, of the MDV1 genome. The pp38 gene is transcribed leftward from the viral genome, while the pp24 gene was shown here to be transcribed rightward in a MD tumor cell line as well as in cells productively infected with MDV1.