Genetic analysis of the bovine herpesvirus type 4 gene locus for the putative terminase

The complete DNA sequence of the 10-45 kbp HindIII B fragment of bovine her pesvirus type 4 (BoHV-4) was determined. This fragment contains nine comple te and two incomplete open reading frames (ORFs), all of which are homologo us to herpesvirus saimiri (HVS), Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (H HV-8) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Particularly, the arrangement of the ge ne for the terminase-related protein with the two coding exons 29a/29b is c onserved among all herpesviruses sequenced to date. The intron carries the ORFs 30 to 33 in the opposite direction. Analysis by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the transcript across the proposed s plice junction of the ORF 29a/29b and subsequent sequence determination of the amplified product revealed the precise structure of the splice junction . Furthermore, the phylogenetic analysis of the 29a/29b protein and its cou nterparts in other herpesviruses revealed that BoHV-4 clustered in the genu s Rhadinovirus of the subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae.