Protein-coding content of the sequence of Marek's disease virus serotype 1.

Abstract

MDV is classified as a member of the family Herpesviridae (Roizman et al. 1992). Because of its lymphotropism, MDV was originally classified as a γ-herpesvirus (Roizman et al. 1981). However, later on, based on its genomic organization and significant sequence similarity to other α-herpesviruses, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV), it was classified in the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae (Buckmaster et al. 1988; Roizman et al. 1992). Like other α-herpesviruses, MDV establishes a life-long latent infection, but differs from other members of the subfamily in that it goes latent not in sensory nerve ganglia but in activated T cells.KeywordsHerpes Simplex Virus TypeThymidine KinaseTegument ProteinUnique LongUnique ShortThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.