Nineteen recombinants between vaccinia virus (VV) DNA− temperature-sensitive mutants and ectromelia virus (EMV) were characterized with respect to their biological properties and genome structure. Four of these recombinants acquired the pathogenicity for mice characteristic of EMV, while the pathogenicity for rabbits characteristic of VV was not only preserved, but even enhanced. Most unexpectedly, these recombinants with ‘double pathogenicity’, as well as four other recombinants, acquired a stable genetic trait which was not typical of the parental viruses, i.e. the ability to form haemorrhagic lesions on the chorioallantoic membrane of chick embryos. Approximate mapping of the genomes of these recombinants with restriction endonucleases showed that their DNA contained mostly VV sequences with a single detected insert of EMV DNA. In the ‘double pathogenicity’ recombinants, this insert was located in the central part of the genome, and its minimal size was about 16 Mdal.
ArchardL. C.,
MackettM.,
BarnesD. E.,
DumbellK. R.1984; The genome structure of cowpox virus white pock variants. Journal of General Virology 65:875–886
Centifanto-FitzgeraldY. M.,
YamaguchiT.,
KaufmanH. E.,
TognonM.,
RoizmanB.1982; Ocular disease pattern induced by herpes simplex virus is genetically determined by a specific region of viral DNA. Journal of Experimental Medicine 155:475–489
ChernosV. I.,
BelanovE. F.,
VasiljevaN. N.1978; Temperature-sensitive mutants of vaccinia virus. I. Isolation and preliminary characterization. Acta virologica 22:81–90
ChernosV. I.,
AntonovaT. P.,
MitinaI. V.,
SenkevichT. G.1983a; Genetic characterization of recombinants between ectromelia virus and vaccinia virus DNA− ts mutants. Molekularnaya Genetika, Mikrobiologiya i Virusologiya 10:21–24 (in Russian)
ChernosV. I.,
ChelyapovN. V.,
AntonovaT. P.,
VasiljevaN. N.,
MitinaI. V.1983b; Biochemical and genetic characterization of vaccinia virus temperature-sensitive mutants with DNA′ and DNA f− phenotypes. Archives of Virology 77:209–221
ConditC. R.,
MotyszkaA.,
SpizzG.1983; Isolation, characterization and physical mapping of temperature-sensitive mutants of vaccinia virus. Virology 128:429–443
JonesE. V.,
MossB.1984; Mapping of the vaccinia virus DNA polymerase gene by marker rescue and cell-free translation of selected RNA. Journal of Virology 49:72–77
SchümperliD.,
MennaA.,
SchwendimannF.,
WittekR.,
WylerR.1980; Symmetrical arrangement of the heterologous regions of rabbit poxvirus and vaccinia virus DNA. Journal of General Virology 47:385–398
SenkevichT. G.,
AntonovaT. P.,
ChernosV. I.1983; Analysis of the genome structure of recombinants between ectromelia virus and vaccinia virus DNA− ts mutants. Molekularnaya Genetika, Mikrobiologiya i Virusologiya 10:24–28 (in Russian)
SridharP.,
ConditR. C.1983; Selection for temperature-sensitive mutations in specific vaccinia virus genes: isolation and characterization of a virus mutant which encodes a phosphonoacetic acid–resistant, temperature-sensitive DNA polymerase. Virology 128:444–457
ThompsonR. L.,
WagnerE. K.,
StevensJ. G.1983; Physical location of a herpes simplex virus type-1 gene function(s) specifically associated with a 10 million-fold increase in HSV neurovirulence. Virology 131:180–192