Structure of the Marek's disease virus BamHI-H gene family: genes of putative importance for tumor induction

The BamHI H fragment of Marek's disease virus (MDV), which has been hypothesized to contain a tumor-inducing gene, was partially sequenced and analyzed for transcriptional activity. Transcription of several RNAs was found to initiate within BamHI-H, with the major transcripts initiating on either side of a putative MDV origin of lytic replication. A 1.8-kilobase gene family found to be produced only by pathogenic MDV was detected, and its transcription map was produced. It is hypothesized that the 1.8-kilobase gene family is directly associated with the tumorigenic potential of MDV.