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J Virol, August 1998, p. 6307-6314, Vol. 72, No. 8
Institut für Virologie und
Immunbiologie, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg,
Germany
Received 25 February 1998/Accepted 20 April 1998
To identify cis-acting elements in the foamy virus (FV)
RNA pregenome, we developed a transient-vector-production system based on cotransfection of indicator gene-bearing vector and
gag-pol and env expression plasmids. Two
elements which were critical for vector transfer were found and mapped
approximately. The first element was located in the RU5 leader and the
5' gag region (approximately up to position 650 of the
viral RNA). The second element was located in an approximately 2-kb
sequence in the 3' pol region. Although small 5' and 3'
deletions, as well as internal deletions of the latter element, were
tolerated, both elements were found to be absolutely required for
vector transfer. The functional characterization of the pol
region-located cis-acting element revealed that it is
essential for efficient incorporation or the stability of
particle-associated virion RNA. Furthermore, virions derived from a
vector lacking this sequence were found to be deficient in the cleavage
of the Gag protein by the Pol precursor protease. Our results suggest that during the formation of infectious virions, complex interactions between FV Gag and Pol and the viral RNA take place.
0022-538X/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Characterization of a cis-Acting
Sequence in the pol Region Required To Transfer Human Foamy
Virus Vectors


*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut
für Virologie und Immunbiologie, Universität
Würzburg, Versbacher Strasse 7, 97078 Würzburg, Germany.
Phone: (49) 931-201-3928. Fax: (49) 931-201-3934. E-mail:
rethwilm{at}vim.uni-wuerzburg.de.
Present address: Molecular Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
20892-1654.
Present address: Laboratory of Neurovirology, University of
California at Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-4295.
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