Correlation between Precolonization of Trigeminal Ganglia by Attenuated Strains of Pseudorabies Virus and Resistance to Wild-Type Virus Latency

We compared the levels of latent pseudorabies virus (PRV) DNA in trigeminal ganglia (TG) of pigs after intranasal inoculation of different PRV strains by using quantitative DNA PCR. The extent of colonization attained in each case varied significantly according to the type of strain and inoculum dose, wild-type (WT) PRV being the most efficient strain in colonizing TG. When groups of pigs representing different levels of precolonization of TG with an attenuated PRV strain were challenged with WT PRV, it became evident that there is a statistically significant inverse correlation between the extent of precolonization attained by an attenuated PRV strain in TG and the level of establishment of latency by superinfecting WT PRV. The protection against WT PRV latency did not correlate with the extent of WE PRV replication at the portal of entry

Novel Gammaherpesvirus Functions 1 Encoded by Bovine herpesvirus (Bovine Lymphotropic virus)

The genus Macavirus of the subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae includes viruses that infect lymphoid cells of domestic and wild ruminants and swine, causing asymptomatic latent infections in reservoir hosts. Here, we describe the genome of bovine herpesvirus 6 (BoHV-6), a macavirus ubiquitous in healthy cattle populations. The BoHV-6 genome exhibited architecture conserved in macaviruses, including a repetitive H-DNA region and unique, 141 kilobase pair L DNA region predicted to encode 77 genes. BoHV-6 encoded in variable genomic regions a novel complement of genes relative to other characterized macaviruses, likely contributing to distinctive aspects of BoHV-6 infection biology and host range. Most notably, BoHV-6 encoded the first herpesviral protein (Bov2.b2) similar to cellular ornithine decarboxylase, an enzyme that catalyzes the first and rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of polyamines. Bov2.b2 conceivably mediates a novel mechanism by which BoHV-6 promotes cell cycle-dependent viral replication

Genome of Bovine Herpesvirus 5

Here we present the complete genomic sequence of bovine herpesvirus 5 (BHV-5), an alphaherpesvirus responsible for fatal meningoencephalitis in cattle. The 138,390-bp genome encodes 70 putative proteins and resembles the α2 subgroup of herpesviruses in genomic organization and gene content. BHV-5 is very similar to BHV-1, the etiological agent of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, as reflected by the high level of amino acid identity in their protein repertoires (average, 82%). The highest similarity to BHV-1 products (≥95% amino acid identity) is found in proteins involved in viral DNA replication and processing (UL5, UL15, UL29, and UL39) and in virion proteins (UL14, UL19, UL48, and US6). Among the least conserved (≤75%) are the homologues of immediate-early (IE) proteins BICP0, BICP4, and BICP22, the three proteins being longer in BHV-5 than in BHV-1. The structure of the BHV-5 latency-related (LR) region departs markedly from that of BHV-1 in both coding and transcriptional regulatory regions. Given the potential significance of IE genes and the LR region in virus-neuron interactions, it is likely these differences contribute to BHV-5 neuropathogenicity