Nucleotide sequence of the thymidine kinase gene of raccoon poxvirus

Using primers directed against the thymidine kinase gene of vaccinia virus, PCR products were generated from nucleic acids extracted from raccoon poxvirus-infected Vero cells. The PCR products were consistent in size with the expected products from vaccinia virus. Nucleotide sequence determination revealed that the raccoon pox thymidine kinase gene and flanking regions were 84.3% homologous to the corresponding sequences of vaccinia virus. At the amino acid level, an open reading frame coding for a polypeptide of 177 amino acids was found with 87% homology to thymidine kinase of vaccinia.