Growth efficiency of naturally occurring BK virus variants in vivo and in vitro

We molecularly cloned a number of BK virus (BKV) DNAs from urine samples collected from a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus undergoing immunosuppressive therapy. On the basis of the structure of the noncoding regulatory region, cloned viral DNAs were classified into a major group and several minor groups. The major group contained a single 68-base-pair (bp) promoter-enhancer element and a 63-bp sequence identified in the genomes of many BKV strains. Most of the minor groups retained a variety of duplications within the transcriptional control region and the origin of DNA replication. We assayed various cloned viral DNAs for the capacity to induce viral growth in transfected human embryonic kidney cells. While major viral DNAs induced slow viral replication, a minor viral DNA retaining partial duplication of the 68-bp element induced rapid viral growth. We concluded that reiteration of the promoter-enhancer element, which is required for efficient growth of BKV in cell culture, is not advantageous for replication of BKV in natural hosts.