Sequencing of human cytomegalovirus TB40E BAC recombinants

We are exploring the role of two human cytomegalovirus viral genes in controlling the viral life cycle. The viral gene UL138 reduces viral replication to enter into a latent state of infection where the virus is quiet in the host. The viral gene UL135 promotes viral replication so that the virus can reactivate and become active in the host again. We have created viruses that cannot make either UL138 (UL138stop) or UL135 (UL135stop) to better study the roles of these genes. Here, we have sequenced these viral genomes to ensure that the proper mutations were made. The wildtype (WT) virus was also sequenced for comparison.

本研究旨在探究两种人类巨细胞病毒（human cytomegalovirus）基因在调控病毒生命周期中的作用。病毒基因UL138可降低病毒复制水平，使病毒进入潜伏感染状态，此时宿主体内的病毒处于沉默状态；病毒基因UL135则可促进病毒复制，帮助病毒重新激活并在宿主体内恢复活性。为更深入地解析这两种基因的功能，我们构建了无法表达UL138（UL138stop）或UL135（UL135stop）的重组病毒。本研究中，我们对上述病毒的基因组进行了测序，以确认预期的突变已成功引入；同时还对野生型（wildtype, WT）病毒进行了测序，以作为对照。