Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Vaccinia Virus Infection & Temporal Analysis of Virus Gene Expression: Part 2
Published on: April 10, 2009
[Orthopoxvirus genes for Kelch-like proteins. I. Analysis of species specific differences by gene structure and
A V Totmenin1, I V Kolosova, S N Shchelkunov
1Institute of Molecular Biology, VECTOR State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology, Kol'tsovo, Novosibirsk Region, 630559 Russia.
Abstract:
Genes and proteins of the kelch superfamily were structurally analyzed in the smallpox (SPV), monkeypox (MPV), cowpox (CPV), and vaccinia (VV) viruses. Genes potentially coding for the kelch-like proteins were found only in the variable terminal regions of the orthopoxvirus genome. The set and sizes of their protein products varied with species. All genes of the superfamily proved to be disrupted by mutations in SPV, which is highly pathogenic for its only host, man. The largest set of kelch-like proteins was observed for CPV, which is low-pathogenic for humans and has the broadest animal host range. The kelch-like proteins of one virus showed low homology to each other, whereas isologs of different viruses were highly homologous. The results testified to the earlier assumption that CPV is the most ancient and an ancestor of the other orthopoxviruses pathogenic for humans.
Related Concept Videos
Genomic DNA in Eukaryotes
Gene Families
Occasionally these regions can be adapted to take on new roles within the organism, becoming novel genes...
Exon Recombination
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...
Structure of a Gene
However, only 1% of the DNA is composed of genes that encode proteins; the rest, 99% is non-coding DNA. This non-coding DNA performs...
Prokaryotic Gene Structure and Organization
Size and Structure of Viral Genomes

