Plasmid-associated effects on test gene expression and Marek's disease virus plaque formation during recombination...

Marek's disease virus (MDV), a herpesvirus of avian origin, is being examined for suitability as a vector for expressing foreign genes. We observed that plasmids encoding the LacZ gene of E. coli under the control of either the herpes simplex virus alpha 4 immediate-early promoter or the cytomegalovirus major immediate-early promoter inhibited MDV plaque formation. Plaque numbers were decreased by one-third, and transient expression of the beta-galactosidase reporter gene was increased by up to 6-fold, when the plasmids were linearized. Sequences associated with the heterologous promoter were identified as being responsible for inhibiting MDV replication.