Genetic relatedness of equine herpesvirus types 1 and 3

The genetic relatedness of two types of equine herpesviruses (EHVs), 1 (EHV-1) and 3 (EHV-3), was determined by DNA-DNA reassociation kinetics. Denatured, labeled viral DNA probe was allowed to reassociate in the presence or absence of the second unlabeled viral DNA. The initial rate of reassociation of either labeled viral DNA was increased by the presence of the heterologous viral DNA to an extent indicating only 2 to 5% homology between the two EHV genomes. Moreover, labeled RNA extracted from EHV-3-infected cells hybridized to filter-immobilized EHV-1 DNA only 2 to 3 percent as efficiently as to the homologous EHV-3 DNA. These results demonstrate that the genital (EHV-3) and nongenital (EHV-1) types of EHVs exhibit very little genetic homology.