Inversion events in the HSV-1 genome are directly mediated by the viral DNA replication machinery and lack sequence
P C Weber1, M D Challberg, N J Nelson
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor 48109.
Abstract:
The bacterial transposable element Tn5 was observed to undergo high-frequency sequence inversion when integrated into the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) genome. Deletion analysis of the IS50 elements through which this recombination event occurred demonstrated the absence of cis-acting signals involved in the inversion process. Several observations suggested an intimate association of the recombination mechanism with HSV-1 DNA replication, including the ability of the seven viral genes that are essential for HSV-1 DNA synthesis to mediate Tn5 inversion in the absence of any other viral functions. Comparable results were obtained by using duplicate copies of the L-S junction of the HSV-1 genome. Thus inversion of the L and S components of the HSV-1 genome during productive infection does not appear to be a site-specific process, but rather is the result of generalized recombination mediated by the complex of gene products that replicate the viral DNA.
Related Concept Videos
Retrovirus Life Cycles
Viral Recombination
Viral Mutations
Retroviruses
Size and Structure of Viral Genomes
Viruses with RNA Genomes


