DNA sequence of the nucleoside triphosphate phosphohydrolase I (NPH I) of the Choristoneura biennis entomopoxvirus

The DNA sequence of an open reading frame (ORF) corresponding to a Choristoneura biennis entomopoxvirus putative late gene was determined. Residing within an 8-kp EcoRI viral genomic fragment, this ORF is 1944 nucleotides long, encoding a basic protein (pI 9.83) with a predicted molecular weight of 76,000 Da. Computer analysis indicates a 36.4% homology between this ORF and the vaccinia nucleoside triphosphate phosphohydrolase I (NHP I) gene, with substantially greater homology (60%) in two domains believed to be involved in ATP binding. The entomopoxvirus ORF contains 78% AT residues; and like other poxvirus late genes, it possesses the conserved TAAAT motif at the 5' terminus of the gene.     

Characterization of the Polyhedrin Gene of Spodoptera litura Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus

The polyhedrin gene (polh) of a characteristically distinct Spodoptera litura nuclear polyhedrosis virus isolate (SIMNPV) is identified in the HindIII-F fragment of the viral DNA. The nucleotide sequence of the 1057 base pair (bp) region of this fragment contains an open reading frame (ORF) without any intervening sequence for coding a polypeptide of 246 amino acids. Analysis of the nucleotide sequence and deduced amino acid sequence indicate that this has more than 70% sequence identity to known polyhedrins. The coding region is preceded by an AT rich region containing the conserved late promoter motif TAAG. The upstream promoter and coding regions of this polh gene are more similar to polh of the NPVs of Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf), Spodoptera exigua (Se) and Panolis flamea (Pf). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Nucleotide sequence analysis of the gtfT gene from Streptococcus sobrinus OMZ176.

The gtfT gene and its upstream region isolated from the Streptococcus sobrinus OMZ176 chromosomal DNA were sequenced. The gtfT gene was preceded by a potential Shine-Dalgarno sequence. The gtfT gene product, glucosyltransferase (GTF), displays a typical gram-positive bacterial signal peptide sequence and both an active site peptide sequence and carboxy-terminal repeats typical of GTFs. The signal sequence is similar to those of other known GTF proteins. The putative active-site peptide sequence of this enzyme was DGIRVDAVD, which was different by one amino acid from the active-site peptide sequence derived from two different types of the S. sobrinus GTFs reported previously (G. Mooser, S. A. Hefta, R. J. Paxton, J. E. Shively, and T. D. Lee, J. Biol. Chem. 266:8916-8922, 1991). The gtfT gene product has three repeated sequences of 51 to 52 amino acids and a partial repeat of 18 amino acids. Another open reading frame (ORF) was detected in the region immediately upstream of the gtfT gene. The upstream ORF showed substantial DNA homology with the gtfS gene isolated from Streptococcus downei MFe28. The inferred amino acid sequence of the upstream ORF has four repeating units and has extensive homology with the repeated peptides coded by the S. downei gtfS gene. These results suggested that the gtfT gene was a typical gtf gene isolated from the mutans streptococci and that the two gtf genes were located in tandem on the chromosomal DNA of S. sobrinus OMZ176.     

Molecular analysis of the gene encoding the immunodominant phenotypically varying P270 protein ofTrichomonas vaginalis

Trichomonas vaginalisis a flagellated protozoan responsible for the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease. The immunogen P270 was previously found to be up-regulated in expression and to undergo phenotypic variation between surface versus cytoplasmic localization in trichomonads harbouring a dsRNA virus. In this report, we characterize the entirep270open reading frame (ORF) and the unknown flanking 5- and 3-unique, non-repeat coding sequences of the gene in addition to untranslated regions. Consistent with an earlier report (Dailey & Alderete, 1991,Infect. Immun.59: 2083–88), a significant portion of the gene consists of a tandemly repeated 333 bp element that contains the sequence coding for the epitope DREGRD detected by murine monoclonal antibody and antibody from the sera of patients. The non-repeat coding regions for the 5- and 3-ends were 69 nucleotides (23 amino acids) and 1183 nucleotides (395 amino acids), respectively. Sequencing of repeat elements showed them to be identical, affirming the highly-conserved nature of this element throughout the gene. The start codon was immediately preceded by the 12 nucleotide consensus sequence (TCATTTTTAATA) found in other trichomonad protein-coding genes. A very AT-rich, non-coding region was identified upstream of thep270ORF. P270 appears to contain a leader sequence at the amino-terminus and transmembrane domain at the carboxy-terminus. No significant homology was found with any reported proteins at either the nucleotide or amino acid level.