Name: Tae Jin Choi

Email: choitj@pknu.ac.kr

Author: Tae-Jin Choi1, Yunjung Park2, Declan C. Schroeder3, Russel H. Meints4, Yong Seok Lee5

Author affiliation: 1Department of Microbiology, Pukyong National University, Busan, South Korea 2National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration, Suwon 441-707, South Korea 3Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB, UK 4The Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA 5Department of Parasitology and Malariology, PICR, Inje University, Busan, South Korea Presenting author

Abstract title: Primary Summary of Molecular Studies on the FsV-158 genome

Absstract:

Through collaborations in many institutions for several years, we have analyzed the entire genome of FsV and identified integration related sequences from the virus and the host and, here present first summary of the studies. The entire genome is 154,641 bp in length and has 150 predicted coding sequences of which 87% have amino acid sequence similarities to other algal virus coding sequences within the family Phycodnaviridae. Significant similarities were found, for thirty eight coding sequences (25%), to genes in gene databanks that are known to be involved in processes that include DNA replication, DNA methylation, signal transduction, viral integration and transposition, and protein?protein interactions. Unsurprisingly, the greatest similarity was observed between the two known viruses that infect Feldmannia, indicating the taxonomic linkage of these two viruses with their hosts. Moreover, comparative analysis of phycodnaviral genomic sequences revealed thesmallest set of core genes (10 out of a possible 31) required to make a functional nucleocytoplasmic large dsDNA virus. The FsV genome integration sites were identified by cloning the regions where the FsV genome is linked to the host DNA. FsV-158 and FsV-178 are integrated into two distinct locations in the algal genome. In contrast, the integration sites in the two viral genomes are identical. Notably, the integration sites in the host and viruses contain GC and CG dinucleotide sequences, respectively, from which the GC sequences are recovered at both host-virus junctions. The splice sites in the two FsV genomes are predicted to form a stem-loop structure with the CG dinucleotide in the loop portion.