Mutational analysis of the herpes simplex virus type 1 glycoprotein E promoter

A set of linker-scanning mutations was constructed in the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein E (gE) promoter to define cis-acting regulatory elements common to late viral promoters. The gE promoter is a late viral promoter that has some activity in the absence of viral DNA replication and is representative of the gamma 1 class of HSV-1 promoters. Each promoter mutation was inserted upstream of the Escherichia coli lacZ gene in a recombinant virus, and the relative activities of beta-galactosidase expressed from individual recombinant viruses were compared. This analysis identified two sequence elements, a TATA element and an element at the start of transcription, that corresponded to similarly positioned elements previously identified in the gC and gH late (gamma 2) HSV-1 promoters. Mutation of the initiation element reduced expression from this promoter during normal lytic infection, but had no appreciable effect on expression in the absence of viral DNA replication, suggesting a specific role in late gene expression. Analysis of expression from hybrid gE/gC promoters revealed that the TATA and the initiation elements of these two promoters were interchangeable and that expression from the gE promoter in the absence of viral DNA replication was due to regulatory elements upstream from TATA element.