A repeat sequence, GGGTTA, is shared by DNA of human herpesvirus 6 and Marek's disease virus

Abstract

Some regions of the genomes of human B-lymphotrophic virus (HBLV), also designated as human herpesvirus 6, and Marek's disease virus were found to hybridize to each other under moderate to stringent conditions, scoring from 10 to 30% base-pair mismatch. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that a 6-base-pair repetitive sequence, GGGTTA (DR2), present in the IRS-IRL junction region of the Marek's disease virus genome, was also reiterated in the HBLV genome. The function(s) of such a sequence is unknown, but this is the first report of homology between HBLV and a nonhuman herpesvirus.