Reevaluation of the Coding Potential and Proteomic Analysis of the BAC Derived Rhesus Cytomegalovirus Strain 68-1
Cytomegaloviruses are highly host restricted resulting in co-speciation with their hosts. As a natural pathogen of rhesus macaques (RM), Rhesus Cytomegalovirus (RhCMV) has therefore emerged as a highly relevant experimental model for pathogenesis and vaccine development due to its close evolutionary relationship to human CMV (HCMV). To date, most in vivo experiments performed with RhCMV employed strain 68-1 cloned as bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC). However, the complete genome sequence of the 68-1 BAC has not been determined. Furthermore, the gene content of the RhCMV genome is unknown and previous open reading frame (ORF) predictions relied solely on uninterrupted ORFs with an arbitrary cutoff of 300bp. To obtain a more precise picture of the actual proteins encoded by the most commonly used molecular clone of RhCMV we re-evaluated the RhCMV 68-1 BAC-genome by whole genome shotgun sequencing and determined the protein content of the resulting RhCMV virions by proteomics. By additionally comparing the RhCMV genome to that of several closely related Old World Monkey (OWM) CMVs we were able to filter out many unlikely ORFs and obtain a simplified map of the RhCMV genome. This comparative genomics analysis eliminated many genes previously characterized as RhCMV-specific while consolidating a high conservation of ORFs among OWM-CMVs and between RhCMV and HCMV. Moreover, virion proteomics independently validated the revised ORF predictions since only proteins encoded by predicted ORFs could be detected. Taken together these data suggest a much higher conservation of genome and virion structure between CMVs of humans, apes and OWMs than previously assumed. Remarkably, BAC-derived RhCMV is able to establish and maintain persistent infection despite the lack of multiple genes homologous to HCMV genes involved in tissue tropism.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1054448
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-87442; 40072; 400412000
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Virology, 86(17):8959-8973, Journal Name: Journal of Virology, 86(17):8959-8973
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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