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Comparative Study
. 2006 May;80(10):4978-91.
doi: 10.1128/JVI.80.10.4978-4991.2006.

Genome of crocodilepox virus

Affiliations
Comparative Study

Genome of crocodilepox virus

C L Afonso et al. J Virol. 2006 May.

Abstract

Here, we present the genome sequence, with analysis, of a poxvirus infecting Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) (crocodilepox virus; CRV). The genome is 190,054 bp (62% G+C) and predicted to contain 173 genes encoding proteins of 53 to 1,941 amino acids. The central genomic region contains genes conserved and generally colinear with those of other chordopoxviruses (ChPVs). CRV is distinct, as the terminal 33-kbp (left) and 13-kbp (right) genomic regions are largely CRV specific, containing 48 unique genes which lack similarity to other poxvirus genes. Notably, CRV also contains 14 unique genes which disrupt ChPV gene colinearity within the central genomic region, including 7 genes encoding GyrB-like ATPase domains similar to those in cellular type IIA DNA topoisomerases, suggestive of novel ATP-dependent functions. The presence of 10 CRV proteins with similarity to components of cellular multisubunit E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complexes, including 9 proteins containing F-box motifs and F-box-associated regions and a homologue of cellular anaphase-promoting complex subunit 11 (Apc11), suggests that modification of host ubiquitination pathways may be significant for CRV-host cell interaction. CRV encodes a novel complement of proteins potentially involved in DNA replication, including a NAD(+)-dependent DNA ligase and a protein with similarity to both vaccinia virus F16L and prokaryotic serine site-specific resolvase-invertases. CRV lacks genes encoding proteins for nucleotide metabolism. CRV shares notable genomic similarities with molluscum contagiosum virus, including genes found only in these two viruses. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that CRV is quite distinct from other ChPVs, representing a new genus within the subfamily Chordopoxvirinae, and it lacks recognizable homologues of most ChPV genes involved in virulence and host range, including those involving interferon response, intracellular signaling, and host immune response modulation. These data reveal the unique nature of CRV and suggest mechanisms of virus-reptile host interaction.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Alignment of the putative CRV concatemer resolution sequence region with those of other poxviruses. Genomic positions are indicated on the right; the putative concatemer resolution sequence is underlined. GenBank accession numbers are as follows: rabbit fibroma virus, AF170722; myxoma virus, AF170726; Yaba-like disease virus, YDI293568; sheeppox virus, M28823; fowlpox virus, AJ581527; swinepox virus, AF410153; vaccinia virus, AY243312; cowpox virus, AF482758.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Alignment of CRV and cellular F-box proteins. The highlighted, boldface, and capital letters indicate residues similar to a previously described 234 F-box consensus (65). Residues in boldface type are present in >40% of this previously described data set, those highlighted are present in 20 to 40%, and those in capital letters are present in greater than 10%. Amino acid positions are indicated on the right. F-box protein sequence names correspond to the following GenBank accession numbers: rat, Q7TSL3; mouse, Q9QZM8; and human, Q96EF6.
FIG. 3.
FIG. 3.
Amino acid alignment of CRV GyrB-like ATPase domain proteins and cellular topoisomerase II. Highlighted are residues identical to those in CRV genes. Underlined are Bergerat fold motifs I (where E involves hydrolysis and N binds Mg+) and III. h, hydrophobic; x, any residue; Talaromyces, Talaromyces flavus (fungi) (GenBank accession number AB078356); Microspora, Encephalitozoon cuniculi (AL590444); Nicotiana, Nicotiana tabacum (AY169238); Drosophila, Drosophila melanogaster (P15348). Numbers on the right indicate amino acid positions.
FIG. 4.
FIG. 4.
Multiple sequence alignment CRV051, MC029L (GenBank accession number U60315) and site-specific recombinase/integrase amino-terminal regions. Highlighted are amino acids similar to CRV051. M. loti, Mesorhizobium loti (AP003017); B. subtilis, Bacillus subtilis (P17867); M. mazei, Methanosarcina mazei (AE013525); Phi, bacteriophage phi-FC1 (AF124258); TP901, Lactococcus lactis bacteriophage TP901-1 (X85213); B. lichiniformis, Bacillus lichiniformis (AX930120); S. hominis, Staphylococus hominis (AB063171). Underlined letters are PROSITE motif residues (PS00397). The putative active site residue S is indicated by boldface type. Numbers on the right indicate amino acid positions.
FIG. 5.
FIG. 5.
Phylogenetic analysis of CRV proteins. Eighty-three conserved proteins between CRV036 and CRV147 were concatenated and aligned with similar data sets from other ChPVs using MUSCLE. The unrooted tree for 32,633 aligned characters was generated using maximum likelihood with WAG correction for multiple substitutions, four-category discrete gamma model, estimation for invariant residues, and 100 bootstrap replicates as implemented in Phyml. Bootstrap values greater than 70 are indicated at appropriate nodes, and dots indicate values of 100. Homologous protein sequences from the following viruses and accession numbers were compared: bovine papular stomatitis virus (BPSV; GenBank accession number AY386265); canarypox virus (CNPV; AY318871); ectromelia virus (ECTV; AF012825); deerpox virus W-848-83 (DPV83; AY689436); deerpox virus W-1170-84 (DPV84; AY689437); fowlpox virus (FWPV; AF198100); lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV; AF325528); molluscum contagiosum virus (MOCV; U60315); myxoma virus (MYXV; AF170726); orf virus (ORFV; AY386264); rabbit (Shope) fibroma virus (SFV; AF170722); sheeppox virus (SPPV; AY077833); swinepox virus (SWPV; AF410153); VACV, M35027; Yaba-like disease virus (YLDV; AJ293568); Yaba monkey tumor virus (YMTV; AY386371). Scale indicates estimated changes per residue. Similar topologies were obtained using an alignment (22,055 characters) in which poorly aligned regions were trimmed with Gblocks; using additional maximum likelihood analyses of the MUSCLE alignment as implemented in PHYLIP, TREE-PUZZLE, IQPNNI, and MRBAYES; using similar analyses on alignments generated with with Dialign-T and Kalign; using Phyml results for supertree analysis of multiple concatenated datasets and for supertree analysis of individual proteins aligned with Kalign; or by conducting similar analyses on a data set including only one virus per genus or major viral group (10 taxa).

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