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Journal of Virology, January 2000, p. 117-129, Vol. 74, No. 1
Department of Microbiology, University of
Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242,1 and
Department of Microbiology, Columbia University, New York,
New York 100322
Received 14 July 1999/Accepted 17 September 1999
The herpes simplex virus type 1 UL34 gene encodes a
protein that is conserved in all human herpesviruses. The association of the UL34 protein with membranes in the infected cell and
its expression as a gamma-1 gene suggest a role in maturation or egress of the virus particle from the cell. To determine the function of this
gene product, we have constructed a recombinant virus that fails to
express the UL34 protein. This recombinant virus, in which
the UL34 protein coding sequence has been replaced by green
fluorescent protein, forms minute plaques and replicates in single-step
growth experiments to titers 3 to 5 log orders of magnitude lower than
wild-type or repair viruses. On Vero cells, the deletion virus
synthesizes proteins of all kinetic classes in normal amounts. Electron
microscopic and biochemical analyses show that morphogenesis of the
deletion virus proceeds normally to the point of formation of
DNA-containing nuclear capsids, but electron micrographs show no
enveloped virus particles in the cytoplasm or at the surface of
infected cells, suggesting that the UL34 protein is
essential for efficient envelopment of capsids.
0022-538X/0/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 UL34 Gene
Product Is Required for Viral Envelopment
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Microbiology, The University of Iowa, 3-752 Bowen Science Building,
Iowa City, IA 52242. Phone: (319) 335-9958. Fax: (319) 335-9006. E-mail: richard-rolle{at}uiowa.edu.
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