Murine Cytomegalovirus pSM3fr. Murine Cytomegalovirus research reagents

Murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV), and in particular recombinant virus derived from MCMV-bacmid pSM3fr, is widely used as the small animal infection model for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). We sequenced the complete genomes of MCMV strains and recombinants for quality control. However, we thereby noticed deviances from the deposited reference sequences of MCMV-bacmid pSM3fr. This prompted us to reanalyze pSM3fr and reannotate the reference sequence, as well as the commonly used MCMV-m157luc reporter virus. Moreover, a reference sequence for this frequently used pSM3fr, containing a repaired version of m129 (MCK-2), and a reference with the luciferase gene instead of ORF m157, was constructed. The new reference also contains the original bacmid sequence, and appreciates the hybrid origin from MCMV-strains Smith and K181.