Variable Restriction Endonuclease Sites of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Isolates from Encephalitic, Facial and Genital Lesions and Ganglia

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Abstract
The distribution of restriction endonuclease (RE) sites was compared for 84 herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) isolates obtained from the ganglia, facial lesions, genital lesions and from brain tissue from herpes encephalitis cases. The isolates came from Canada, the UK, the USA and Japan. Out of a total of 224 sites identified, 87 were variable. Three of the 30 most variable sites were at significantly (P < 0.05) different frequencies in groups of isolates from distinct anatomical sites of isolation; 1 of these, and a further 2 sites, were at significantly different frequencies in groups from distinct geographical origins. There are at least 2 interrelated linkage groups. Most of the site combinations appear to be random. The variability of RE sites in contiguous genome segments, which include both noncoding and coding sequences, show a marked heterogeneity, indicating that some viral gene sequences are more variable than others. The 3 RE sites at different frequencies in viral groups from distinct anatomical sites of isolation are in 2 genome segments: map units 27-35 and 50-57. It was inferred from the observed associations with anatomical site of viral isolation that part of at least 1 of these segments may modulate viral virulence in man following infection.

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