The Tegument Protein pUL47 of Marek’s Disease Virus Is Necessary for Horizontal Transmission and Is Important for Expression of Glycoprotein gC
Aurélien Chuard, Katia Courvoisier-Guyader, Sylvie Rémy, Stephen J. Spatz, Caroline Denesvre, David Pasdeloup
Abstract
in the natural host. Veterinary viruses such as Marek's disease virus (MDV) are, therefore, models of choice to explore these aspects. The natural host of MDV, the chicken, is small, inexpensive, and economically important. MDV is a deadly and contagious herpesvirus that can kill infected animals in less than 4 weeks. The virus naturally infects epithelial cells of the feather follicle epithelium from where it is shed into the environment. In this study, we demonstrate that the viral protein pUL47 is an essential factor for bird-to-bird transmission of the virus. We provide some molecular basis to this function by showing that pUL47 enhances the splicing and the expression of another viral gene, UL44, which is essential for viral transmission. pUL47 may have a similar function in human herpesviruses such as varicella-zoster virus or herpes simplex viruses.