Identification and characterization of the bovine herpesvirus 1 UL7 gene and gene product which are not essential for virus replication in cell culture.

The UL7 gene of bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) strain Schönböken was found at a position and in a context predicted from the gene order in the prototype alphaherpesvirus herpes simplex virus type 1. The gene and flanking regions were sequenced, the UL7 RNA and protein were characterized, and 98.3% of the UL7 open reading frame was deleted from the viral genome without destroying productive virus replication. Concomitant deletion of nine 3' codons from the BHV-1 UL6 ORF and 77 amino acids from the carboxy terminus of the predicted BHV-1 UL8 protein demonstrated that these domains are also not essential for function of the respective proteins. The UL7 open reading frame encodes a protein of 300 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 32 kDa. Comparison with UL7 homologs of other alphaherpesviruses revealed a high degree of homology, the most prominent being to the predicted UL7 polypeptide of varicella-zoster virus, with 43.3% identical amino acids. A monospecific anti-UL7 serum identified the 33-kDa (apparent-molecular-mass) UL7 polypeptide which is translated from an early-expressed 1.7-kb RNA. The UL7 protein was localized in the cytoplasm of infected cells and could not be detected in purified virions. In summary, we describe the first identification of an alphaherpesviral UL7-encoded polypeptide and demonstrate that the UL7 protein is not essential for replication of BHV-1 in cell culture.