Aa. Mercer et al., THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A GENETIC-MAP OF ORF VIRUS REVEALS A PATTERN OF GENOMIC ORGANIZATION THAT IS HIGHLY CONSERVED AMONG DIVERGENT POXVIRUSES, Virology, 212(2), 1995, pp. 698-704
The large differences between the G+C content of the ori virus genome
and those of other characterized poxviruses have precluded the use of
DNA hybridization to establish a gene map of orf virus. Here we have s
equenced the ends of cloned restriction endonuclease fragments of the
NZ2 strain of orf virus (OV) and used the translated sequences to sear
ch protein data bases. Sequence from 15 points found high-scoring matc
hes to data base entries, including 18 vaccinia virus (VAC) genes. We
also present 2 kb of sequence from a region near the right terminus of
the OV genome and show that it encodes homologs of VAC genes, F9L and
F10L. The data presented here in conjunction with published and as ye
t unpublished data have allowed the construction of a gene map of OV o
n which 37 genes have been placed. Thirty-two of these genes have homo
logs in VAC, Alignment of the OV gene map with that of VAC revealed th
at each OV gene and its VAC counterpart occurred in the same order and
orientation on their respective genomes. The intervals between many o
f the points of sequence were also found to be strikingly similar. The
conserved spacing of genes between OV and VAC within the central 88.2
kb of the 139-kb OV genome is not maintained in the termini where ins
ertion, deletion, and translocation have occurred. Parallels are drawn
between the data presented here and related data from swinepox virus
and capripox virus. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.