Identification and characterization of the infectious laryngotracheitis virus glycoprotein C gene

The infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) gene encoding a homologue to the glycoprotein C gene of herpes simplex virus has been sequenced and identified based on its genomic location, comparative analysis to other gC proteins, and the identification of a glycosylated protein product. Located near the small subunit ribonucleotide reductase gene, the ILTV gC gene is 1242 bp in length and is predicted to encode a membrane glycoprotein containing a characteristic N-terminal hydrophobic signal sequence, five potential N-linked glycosylation sites, and C-terminal transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains. Antibodies raised in rabbits against a Cro-ILTV-beta-galactosidase fusion protein expressed in Escherichia coli recognize a 60-kDa ILTV-specific glycoprotein from infected cell extracts. Transcriptional analysis, using a portion of the open reading frame as a probe, identified a 1.55-kb transcript expressed with late gene kinetics. Comparison to other herpesvirus gC proteins revealed limited amino acid sequence homology and the absence of a charged extracellular region, which would normally interact with cell surface proteoglycans.