IDENTIFICATION AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL ANALYSIS OF PSEUDORABIES VIRUS UL6TO UL12 GENES

We determined the nucleotide sequence of an 11 059 bp fragment of the pseudorabies virus genome located in the right part of genomic BamHI f ragment 3 and the adjacent part of BamHI fragment 6. Within this regio n eight open reading frames were identified whose deduced amino acid s equences exhibited homology to the UL6, UL7, UL8, UL8.5, UL9, UL10, UL 11, and UL12 protein products of herpes simplex virus type 1. Transcri ptional analyses indicated presence of 3'-coterminal mRNAs for genes U L8, UL8.5, and UL9 as well as for genes UL6 and UL7, respectively, whi le UL10 was represented by a very abundant unique transcript. Both gen e arrangement and transcriptional organization within this region of t he pseudorabies virus genome thus parallels the situation found in oth er alphaherpesviruses.