Sequencing of a 5.5-kb DNA fragment and identification of a gene coding for a subunit of the helicase/primase complex of avian laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV).

The nucleotide sequence of a 5,520-bp EcoRI restriction fragment of avian infectious laryngotracheitis (ILTV) DNA was reported and submitted to GeneBank with an accession number of AF001078. Computer prediction revealed one large potential open reading frame (ORF) with sequence similar to one subunit of the DNA helicase-primase complex of alpha-herpesviruses. The DNA helicase/primase complex of HSV-1 consists of three sub-units with molecular weights of 12,000, 97,000 and 70,000, encoded by genes UL52, UL5 and UL8, respectively. This enzyme complex is essential for herpesvirus DNA replication. The UL52 and UL5-equivalent genes of ILTV have been reported previously (Fuchs, W. and Mettenleiter, T.C.; J Gen Virol, 1996, 77: 2221-2229; Johnson, M.A. et. al., Arch Virol, 1995, 14: 623-634). Amino acid sequence comparison and homology search revealed that this ORF shares sequence similarity of the UL8-equivalent gene of alpha-herpesviruses, that is, the ORF 52 of vericura-zoster virus (VZV), the ORF 54 of equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1), as well as the equivalent gene of bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) and canine herpesvirus (Vlcek, C. et al., Virology, 1995, 210: 100-108; Remond, M. et al., J Gen Virol, 1996, 77: 37-48).