RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Ohno, S. A1 Steer, B. A1 Sattler, C. A1 Adler, H.YR 2012 T1 ORF23 of murine gammaherpesvirus 68 is non-essential for in vitro and in vivo infection JF Journal of General Virology, VO 93 IS 5 SP 1076 OP 1080 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.041129-0 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1465-2099, AB Although ORF23 is conserved among gammaherpesviruses, its role during infection is unknown. Here, we studied the expression of ORF23 of murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) and its role during infection. ORF23 mRNA was detected in infected cells as a late transcript. The ORF23 protein product could be expressed and detected as an N-terminally FLAG-tagged protein by Western blot and indirect immunofluorescence. To investigate the role of ORF23 in the infection cycle of a gammaherpesvirus, we constructed an ORF23 deletion mutant of MHV-68. The analysis of the ORF23 deletion mutant suggested that ORF23 of MHV-68 is neither essential for replication in cell culture nor for lytic or latent infection in vivo. A phenotype of the ORF23 deletion mutant, reflected by a moderate reduction in lytic replication and latency amplification, was only detectable in the face of direct competition to the parental virus., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.041129-0