Disease relevance of UL21

• Mutations affecting the UL21 gene contribute to avirulence of pseudorabies virus vaccine strain Bartha [1].
• The products of the UL16 and UL21 genes represent tegument proteins which are conserved throughout the mammalian herpesviruses [2].

High impact information on UL21

• To investigate protein function, viruses lacking either UL16, UL21, or both were constructed [2].
• Similar results were obtained with a triple mutant simultaneously lacking the three conserved tegument proteins UL11, UL16, and UL21 [2].
• Complex formation between the UL16 and UL21 tegument proteins of pseudorabies virus [2].
• Since this effect was significantly more dramatic than in wild-type PrV, additional mutations known to be present in PrV-Ba were analyzed for their contribution to this phenotype. trans-complementation of the mutated PrV-Ba UL21 or gC protein by the wild-type version had no influence on the observed phenotype [3].
• We show that the defect associated with attenuation in strain Bartha is located in a 3.8-kb subfragment of BamHI-4 which encompasses the PrV UL20 and UL21 genes and a putative origin of replication (B. Klupp, H. Kern, and T. C. Mettenleiter, 1992, Virology 191, 900-908) [1].

Chemical compound and disease context of UL21

• The Bartha strain of pseudorabies virus has several recognized mutations, including a deletion in the unique short region encompassing the glycoprotein I (gI), gE, Us9, and Us2 genes and point mutations in the gC, gM, and UL21 genes [4].

Biological context of UL21

• In summary, our data show that the PrV UL21 gene is a major determinant of PrV virulence and that point mutations affecting the UL21 gene of live vaccine strain Bartha contribute to its attenuated phenotype [1].

References