Analysis of the molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV) genome revealed that
it encodes approximately 182 proteins, 105 of which have direct count
erparts in orthopoxviruses (OPV). The corresponding OPV proteins compr
ise those known to be essential for replication as well as many that a
re still uncharacterized, including 2 of less than 60 amino acids that
had not been previously noted. The OPV proteins most highly conserved
in MCV are involved in transcription; the least conserved include mem
brane glycoproteins. Twenty of the MCV proteins with OPV counterparts
also have cellular homologs and additional MCV proteins have conserved
functional motifs. Of the 77 predicted MCV proteins without OPV count
erparts, 10 have similarity to other MCV proteins and/or distant simil
arity to proteins of other poxviruses and 16 have cellular homologs in
cluding some predicted to antagonize host defenses. Clustering poxviru
s proteins by sequence similarity revealed 3 unique MCV gene families
and 8 families that are conserved in MCV and OPV. Two unique families
contain putative membrane receptors; the third includes 2 proteins, ea
ch containing 2 DED apoptosis signal transduction domains. Additional
families with conserved patterns of cysteines and putative redox activ
e centers were identified. Promoters, transcription termination signal
s, and DNA concatemer resolution sequences are highly conserved in MCV
and OPV. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that MCV, OPV, and leporipox
viruses radiated from a common poxvirus ancestor after the divergence
of avipoxviruses. Despite the acquisition of unique genes for host int
eractions and changes in GC content, the physical order and regulation
of essential ancestral poxvirus genes have been largely conserved in
MCV end OPV. (C) 1997 Academic Press.