Persistence-Associated Transcript 1 of HZ-1 Virus is a Non-Coding Viral RNA Without Any Further Modifications After Transcription

Abstract

During persistent Hz-1 viral infection, the expression of productive-specific genes are all turned off except for the expression of a single persistence-associated transcript 1 (PAT1). Further experiments showed that PAT1 is not an intron and functions as a nuclear RNA (Chao et al., 1998. J. Virol. 72, 2233-2245.). In these studies, the cDNA of PAT1 is cloned and sequenced and found to be identical to its genomic counter part, the persistence-associated gene 1 (pag1) suggesting that PAT1 is neither spliced nor edited after transcription. Further experiments showed that PAT1 is not capped or polyadenylated. In vitro transcription and translation experiments showed that no peptides were generated by PAT1. All the evidence collectively indicated that PAT1 is a novel transcript transcribed directly from pag1 of Hz-1 virus.