Identification of an intercistronic internal ribosome entry site in a Marek's disease virus immediate-early gene.

ABSTRACT: In this study, we have identified an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) from the highly infectious herpesvirus Marek's disease virus (MDV). The IRES was mapped to the intercistronic region (ICR) of a bicistronic mRNA that we cloned from the MDV-transformed CD4(+) T-cell line MSB-1. The transcript is a member of a family of mRNAs expressed as immediate-early genes with two open reading frames (ORF). The first ORF encodes a 14-kDa polypeptide with two N-terminal splice variants, whereas the second ORF is contained entirely within a single exon and encodes a 12-kDa protein also known as RLORF9. We have shown that the ICR that separates the two ORFs functions as an IRES that controls the translation of RLORF9 when cap-dependent translation is inhibited. Deletion analysis revealed that there a

SUBMITTER: Tahiri-Alaoui A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2681985 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature