Expression of a second open reading frame present in the genome of tick-borne encephalitis virus strain Neudoerfl is not detectable in infected cells

0461849 - BC 2017 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Černý, Jiří - Selinger, Martin - Palus, Martin - Vavrušková, Zuzana - Tykalová, Hana - Bell-Sakyi, L. - Štěrba, Ján - Grubhoffer, Libor - Růžek, Daniel
Expression of a second open reading frame present in the genome of tick-borne encephalitis virus strain Neudoerfl is not detectable in infected cells.
Virus Genes. Roč. 52, č. 3 (2016), s. 309-316. ISSN 0920-8569. E-ISSN 1572-994X
R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP502/11/2116; GA ČR GA15-03044S; GA MŠMT(CZ) EE2.3.30.0032
EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 278976 - ANTIGONE
Institutional support: RVO:60077344
Keywords : TBEV * uORF * TuORF * Immunoblotting * Immunofluorescence
Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology
Impact factor: 1.431, year: 2016

A short upstream open reading frame (uORF) was recently identified in the 5' untranslated region of some tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) strains. However, it is not known if the peptide encoded by TBEV uORF (TuORF) is expressed in infected cells. Here we show that TuORF forms three phylogenetically separated clades which are typical of European, Siberian, and Far-Eastern TBEV subtypes. Analysis of selection pressure acting on the TuORF area showed that it is under positive selection pressure. Theoretically, TuORF may code for a short hydrophobic peptide embedded in a biological membrane. However, expression of TuORF was detectable neither by immunoblotting in tick and mammalian cell lines infected with TBEV nor by immunofluorescence in TBEV-infected mammalian cell lines. These results support the idea that TuORF is not expressed in TBEV-infected cell or expressed in undetectably low concentrations. Therefore we can assume that TuORF has either minor or no biological role in the TBEV life cycle.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0261418