Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Dominant negative selection of vaccinia virus using a thymidine kinase/thymidylate kinase fusion gene and the prodrug azidothymidine

Journal Article · · Virology
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Baxter BioScience/Vaccines, Biomedical Research Center, Uferstrasse 15, A-2304 Orth/Donau (Austria)
The Escherichia coli thymidine kinase/thymidylate kinase (tk/tmk) fusion gene encodes an enzyme that efficiently converts the prodrug 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxythymidine (AZT) into its toxic triphosphate derivative, a substance which stops DNA chain elongation. Integration of this marker gene into vaccinia virus that normally is not inhibited by AZT allowed the establishment of a powerful selection procedure for recombinant viruses. In contrast to the conventional vaccinia thymidine kinase (tk) selection that is performed in tk-negative cell lines, AZT selection can be performed in normal (tk-positive) cell lines. The technique is especially useful for the generation of replication-deficient vaccinia viruses and may also be used for gene knock-out studies of essential vaccinia genes.
OSTI ID:
20726038
Journal Information:
Virology, Journal Name: Virology Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 337; ISSN VIRLAX; ISSN 0042-6822
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Control of thymidine kinase synthesis in IHD vaccinia virus-infected thymidine kinase-deficient LM cells
Journal Article · Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1975 · J. Virol., v. 16, no. 1, pp. 210-213 · OSTI ID:4169836

Identification and nucleotide sequence of the thymidine kinase gene of Shope fibroma virus
Journal Article · Sun Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 1986 · J. Virol.; (United States) · OSTI ID:5982760

Thymidine plaque autoradiography of thymidine kinase-positive and thymidine kinase-negative herpesviruses
Journal Article · Fri Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1982 · J. Clin. Microbiol.; (United States) · OSTI ID:6257026