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Updated: May 21, 2026

Vaccinia Reporter Viruses for Quantifying Viral Function at All Stages of Gene Expression
Published on: May 15, 2014
A vesiculovirus showing a steepened transcription gradient and dominant trans-repression of virus transcription
Erin N Hodges1, Bianca S Heinrich, John H Connor
1Department of Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Abstract:
Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is a prototype nonsegmented, negative-sense virus used to examine viral functions of a broad family of viruses, including human pathogens. Here we demonstrate that S(2) VSV, an isolate with a small plaque phenotype compared to other Indiana strain viruses, has a transcription defect resulting in an altered pattern and rapid decline of transcription. The S(2) VSV transcription gradient is dominant over the wild-type transcription in a coinfection. This is the first characterization of an altered gradient of transcription not dependent on RNA template sequence or host response and may provide insight into new approaches to viral attenuation.
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