Sohail Raza
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pakistan
Title: Localization of Bovine herpesvirus 1 DNA polymerase processivity factor UL42 and its catalytic subunit UL30
Biography
Biography: Sohail Raza
Abstract
Bovine Herpes Virus 1 (BoHV-1) is an important pathogen of cattle and buffalo, it leads to significant economic losses to the dairy and beef industry. BoHV-1 DNA replication takes place in the nucleus of infected cells. The process is mediated by a number of proteins, including a virus-encoded DNA polymerase holoenzyme complex, which consists of the catalytic subunit pUL30 and its processivity factor pUL42. In this study, we characterized the UL30 and UL42 proteins of BoHV-1 in transfected cells. Bioinformatics analysis identified a putative classical Nuclear Localization Signal (NLS) located at the C-terminus of pUL42 (residues 379-378), but no similar signals were identified on pUL30. To confirm this, differently tagged UL42 and UL30 fusion proteins had been expressed in MDBK cells. The co-immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence experiments had been performed. The Co-immunoprecipitation of differently tagged UL42 and UL30 fusion proteins demonstrated that both proteins interact with each other even in the absence of other viral proteins. Importantly, when individually expressed in the absence of other viral proteins, pUL42 localized to the cell nucleus, whereas pUL30 was retained in the cytoplasm. Upon co-expression, both proteins had been localized in the nucleus. Overall our results are consistent with the hypothesis that during BoHV-1 infection UL42 transports the catalytic subunit into the nucleus, similar to what reported for other Herpes viridae members.