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Journal of Virology, August 2000, p. 7411-7421, Vol. 74, No. 16
Program in Infectious Diseases and Immunity,
School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley,
California 94720
Received 6 March 2000/Accepted 3 May 2000
A transposon derived from Escherichia coli
Tn3 was introduced into the genome of murine
cytomegalovirus (MCMV) to generate a pool of viral mutants, including
two recombinant viruses that contained the transposon sequence within
open reading frames m09 and M83. Our studies provide the first direct
evidence to suggest that m09 is not essential for viral replication in
mouse NIH 3T3 cells. Studies in cultured cells and in both BALB/c-Byj
and CB17 severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice indicated that the transposon insertion is stable during viral propagation both in vitro
and in vivo. Moreover, the virus that contained the insertion mutation
in m09 exhibited a titer similar to that of the wild-type virus in the
salivary glands, lungs, livers, spleens, and kidneys of both the BALB/c
and SCID mice and was as virulent as the wild-type virus in killing the
SCID mice when these animals were intraperitoneally infected with these
viruses. These results suggest that m09 is dispensable for viral growth
in these organs and that the presence of the transposon sequence in the
viral genome does not significantly affect viral replication in vivo.
In contrast, the virus that contained the insertion mutation in M83
exhibited a titer of at least 60-fold lower than that of the wild-type
virus in the organs of the SCID mice and was attenuated in killing the
SCID mice. These results demonstrate the utility of using the
Tn3-based system as a mutagenesis approach for studying the
function of MCMV genes in both immunocompetent and immunodeficient animals.
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Construction and Characterization of Murine
Cytomegaloviruses That Contain Transposon Insertions at Open Reading
Frames m09 and M83
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Program in
Infectious Diseases and Immunity, School of Public Health, 140 Warren
Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720. Phone: (510)
643-2436. Fax: (510) 642-6350. E-mail:
liu_fy{at}uclink4.berkeley.edu.
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