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Title: Nucleotide sequence discrepancies within the GA strain of Marek's disease virus

Author
item Spatz, Stephen
item Lee, Lucy
item Silva, Robert

Submitted to: Western Poultry Disease Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/29/2010
Publication Date: 3/21/2011
Citation: Spatz, S.J., Lee, L.F., Silva, R.F. 2011. Nucleotide sequence discrepancies within the GA strain of Marek's disease virus. Western Poultry Disease Conference. 134-139.

Interpretive Summary: We have resequenced various regions of the Marek's disease viruse prototype strains GA and have found sequencing discrepancies or errors in the original GA sequence released in GenBanks. Since this is a reference strain having an accurate account of the nucleotide sequences of the genes is just good science.

Technical Abstract: Comparative genomics between 9 gallid herpesvirus type 2 strains have singled out the virulent (v) prototype strain GA as phylogenetically distant from other v pathotypes. Multiple amino acid alignments of otherwise highly conserved unique long (UL) genes have indicated sequence discrepancies within 14 UL genes (UL6, UL7, UL12, UL15, UL16, UL17, UL18, UL19, UL26, UL29, UL37, UL52, LORF11 and RLORF) within the GA genome. Resequencing of these genes using a low passage isolate of GA (GA-13) has identified amino acid and sequence length polymorphisms in the original GA sequence relative to eight other sequenced GaHV-2 strains. Complete sequence agreement is obtained when the 14 GA-13 genes are aligned with their counterparts from the genomes of the 8 GaHV-2 strains, indicating the likelihood of sequencing errors within the original GA data.