Construction of M1GS for targeted cleavage of HCMV {\sl UL}54 mRNA segments

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a DNA virus and serious opportunistic pathogen for both newborn and immunocompromised individuals. To research technique for gene silence and antiviral agents, ribozyme M1GS-T6 was constructed from external guide sequences (EGSs) that consist of a sequence complementary to HCMV UL54 gene RNA and M1 RNA, the catalytic RNA subunit of RNase P from Escherichia coli. The results showed that M1GS can efficiently cleave the mRNA sequence encoding UL54 protein in vitro.