THE DNA POLYMERASE-ENCODING GENE OF AFRICAN SWINE FEVER VIRUS - SEQUENCE AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL ANALYSIS

The putative DNA polymerase-encoding gene of African swine fever virus has been sequenced. The gene, designated G1207R, is located in the ce ntral region of the viral genome, and encodes a protein of 1207 amino acids (aa) with a predicted M(r) of 139 835. The gene is transcribed a t both early and late stages of infection into a 4.1-kb RNA. Transcrip tion is initiated at tsp, 8 nucleotides (nt) upstream from the start c odon. Open reading frame (ORF) G1207R contains four direct repeats in tandem close to the 3'-end. Each repeat consists of 12 nt, coding for the reiterated sequence, K/NPAG. The deduced aa sequence of G1207R sho ws significant similarity with DNA polymerases from cellular and viral origin, belonging to the alpha-like family of DNA polymerases. In par ticular, the G1207R protein presents a colinear arrangement of all the 3'-->5' exonuclease and polymerization highly conserved aa regions ch aracteristic of this group of DNA-dependent DNA polymerases.