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Updated: May 8, 2026

Purification of Viral DNA for the Identification of Associated Viral and Cellular Proteins
Published on: August 31, 2017
Human herpesvirus 7 integrates into host telomeres via its telomeric repeat arrays
Yingnan Cheng1,2, Joilson Xavier1,2, Dusan Kunec1
1Institut für Virologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
None:
Human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) is a ubiquitous betaherpesvirus and a causative agent of roseola infantum. HHV-7 harbors telomeric repeat arrays (TMR) identical to human telomeres at the ends of its genome. While similar repeats contribute to human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) integration into host telomeres, HHV-7 integration and the role of the TMR remained elusive. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization and nanopore sequencing, we demonstrate that HHV-7 efficiently integrates into host telomeres in persistently infected cells. To determine the role of the TMR in the virus life cycle, we generated the first HHV-7 reverse genetic system and mutants lacking the TMR. These mutants revealed that the TMR are dispensable for HHV-7 replication, but play a crucial role in the integration process and genome maintenance in persistently infected cells. This study provides a reverse genetic system for HHV-7, and offers important insights into the biology of this ubiquitous human pathogen.
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