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Molecular cloning and sequence determination of DA strain of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis viruses
1Department of Neurology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Illinois 60637.
Abstract:
Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis viruses (TMEV) belong to the Picornaviridae, and are divided into two subgroups. TO subgroup strains produce a persistent demyelinating central nervous system infection in mice, while GDVII subgroup strains cause acute polioencephalomyelitis. We generated three overlapping clones of the genome of DA strain, a member of TO subgroup. Sequence analysis revealed that the genome is 8093 nucleotides long with a poly(A) tail. The 5' noncoding region stretches from nucleotides 1 to 1065 and lacks a poly(C) tract. The open reading frame stretches from 1066 to 7968 and encodes 2301 amino acids. DA strain sequence is more closely related to members of the Cardiovirus genus than to members of other Picornavirus genera. Comparison with sequence of BeAn strain, another TO subgroup strain, showed that the P1 area has the greatest number of differences, while the noncoding regions are more well-conserved. The three overlapping clones will be important in recombinant infectious cDNA studies between strains of both subgroups.
Insights
Researchers sequenced the DA strain of Theiler
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Neuroscience
- Genomics
Background:
- Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis viruses (TMEV) are classified into two subgroups: TO and GDVII.
- TO subgroup strains cause persistent demyelinating central nervous system infections in mice.
- GDVII subgroup strains induce acute polioencephalomyelitis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To generate and analyze overlapping clones of the DA strain genome, a TO subgroup member.
- To provide a genomic resource for studying TMEV strains and their neurotropic properties.
Main Methods:
- Generation of three overlapping cDNA clones spanning the DA strain TMEV genome.
- Full genome sequencing and sequence analysis.
- Comparative sequence analysis with other TMEV strains.
Main Results:
- The DA strain genome is 8093 nucleotides long with a poly(A) tail.
- The 5' noncoding region (1-1065 nt) lacks a poly(C) tract.
- The open reading frame (1066-7968 nt) encodes 2301 amino acids.
- DA strain shows greater relatedness to Cardiovirus genus than other Picornavirus genera.
- The P1 region exhibits the most sequence differences compared to the BeAn strain, while noncoding regions are conserved.
Conclusions:
- The generated overlapping clones are valuable for future recombinant infectious cDNA studies.
- Understanding genomic variations between TMEV subgroups can elucidate mechanisms of neurovirulence.
- This genomic data contributes to the study of persistent and acute viral encephalomyelitis.