Cloning and physical mapping of a gene fragment coding for a 64-kilodalton major late antigen of human cytomegalovirus.

Abstract

We have isolated a clone containing a gene fragment coding for a 64-kilodalton glycoprotein that is the major late antigen of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). Based upon the amino acid sequence of a tryptic peptide of this glycoprotein (HCMVgp64), two sets of mixed-sequence probes, one consisting of a mixture of 16 heptadecadeoxyribonucleotides and the other a mixture of 32 icosadeoxyribonucleotides, were synthesized. A subgenomic library of HCMV (Towne strain) DNA was constructed in plasmid pBR327 and transformants were screened with 32P-labeled aliquots of these synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotide probes. Two clones among 15,000 gave strong positive signals. Plasmid DNA was isolated from the positive clones and characterized by restriction mapping and Southern blot analysis using both probes. The plasmid DNA contained a 2.3-kilobase insert, which yielded an 800-base-pair and a 1500-base-pair fragment after Sau3A digestion. Only the 800-base-pair fragment hybridized to the mixed probes, and DNA sequence analysis revealed that it contains nucleotide sequences compatible with amino acid sequences of tryptic peptides of HCMVgp64. Restriction mapping studies of HCMV DNA using this 32P-labeled 800-base-pair cloned DNA have allowed us to locate this gene fragment in the long unique region of HCMV (Towne strain) genome at approximately equal to 0.5-0.51 map unit.