Restriction enzyme maps of the macropodid herpesvirus 2 genome

The DNA of macropodid herpesvirus 2 (dorcopsis wallaby herpesvirus) was analysed using restriction enzymes and molecular cloning techniques. Sets of EcoRI and SalI clones were prepared which represented approximately 85 per cent of the genome, and these clones were used to map the DNA by double-digestion and hybridization experiments. Data on uncloned regions were obtained by analysing fragments excised from agarose gels, and terminal fragments were identified by exonuclease III digestion. The genome was shown to be approximately 135 kilobases (kb) long. It has a long unique sequence (95 kb) bounded by repeat sequences (5.5 kb) and joined at one end to a short unique sequence (15 kb) also bounded by repeat sequences (7.0 kb) in a manner similar to that of herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2.