Identification and transcriptional analysis of pseudorabies virus UL6 to UL12 genes

We determined the nucleotide sequence of an 11 059 bp fragment of the pseudorabies virus genome located in the right part of genomic BamHI fragment 3 and the adjacent part of BamHI fragment 6. Within this region eight open reading frames were identified whose deduced amino acid sequences exhibited homology to the UL6, UL7, UL8, UL8.5, UL9, UL10, UL11, and UL12 protein products of herpes simplex virus type 1. Transcriptional analyses indicated presence of 3′-coterminal mRNAs for genes UL8, UL8.5, and UL9 as well as for genes UL6 and UL7, respectively, while UL10 was represented by a very abundant unique transcript. Both gene arrangement and transcriptional organization within this region of the pseudorabies virus genome thus parallels the situation found in other alphaherpesviruses.