Update on Marek disease research

Peng Q, Zeng M, Bhuiyan ZA, Ubukata E, Tanaka A, Nonoyama M, Shirazi Y. Isolation and characterization of Marek's disease virus (MDV) cDNAs mapping to the BamHI-I2, BamHI-Q2, and BamHI-L fragments of the MDV genome from lymphoblastoid cells transformed and persistently infected with MDV. Virology. 1995 Nov 10;213(2):590-9. PubMed PMID: 7491783.

Summary:

Several genes were mapped to the Marek’s Disease virus genome and found to code for proteins expressed in cells actively producing virus (lytic infection) and in tumor cells (latent).

Published Abstract:

We have isolated and sequenced two cDNAs of sizes 2674 and 677 bp from a cDNA library derived from MKT-1, a lymphoblastoid cell line transformed and latently infected with Marek's disease virus (MDV) using probes corresponding to the right-hand end of the BamHI-I2 fragment of the MDV genome. The larger cDNA clone represents an abundant transcript, which extends from the right-hand end of BamHI-I2 to the adjacent BamHI-Q2 and BamHI-L fragments of the MDV genome and contains the Meq (MDV Eco-Q) open reading frame. The smaller cDNA clone represents a spliced transcript containing the putative DNA binding domain of Meq as well as sequences in the BamHI-L region. We prepared a polyclonal antibody against part of the protein sequence of Meq and detected a 44-kDa protein in MKT-1 cells and in cells lytically infected with MDV. In addition, riboprobes corresponding to sequences specific to each cDNA as well as shared sequences between cDNAs detected a number of transcripts in cells either lytically or latently infected with MDV. Our results indicate that the Meq transcriptional unit extends to the BamHI-L fragment and that the transcripts mapping to the right-hand end of the BamHI-I2 and adjacent BamHI-Q2 and BamHI-L fragments are not preferentially expressed during latency.