The Pseudorabies Virus Host-Shutoff Homolog Gone: Nucleotide Sequence and Comparison with Alphaherpesvirus Protein Counterparts

Abstract The virion host shutoff function (VHS) of many herpesviruses is required for inhibition of cellular gene expression in infected cells. This function corresponds to the UL41 open reading frame of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and homolog sequences have been found in other alphaherpesvirus, like HSV-2, Varicella-Zoster virus (VZV) and equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1). In this work, we have cloned and sequenced a pseudorabies virus (PRV) gene which is homologous to the VHS genes of the other alphaherpesvirus. Sequence comparison between all deduced amino acid sequences indicates the presence of several conserved domains, separated by regions containing gaps or low conserved sequences.