A pseudorabies virus (Becker strain) glycoprotein gene was located in the UL region at map position 0.40. The gene was identified by using open reading frame Escherichia coli plasmid expression vectors and specific antibody reagents. A 1.55-kilobase unspliced transcript from the gene was detected in pseudorabies virus-infected tissue culture cells. The DNA sequence revealed a single open reading frame of 1,437 base pairs encoding 479 amino acids. The predicted primary translation product has a molecular weight of 50,860 and contains features of a typical herpesvirus glycoprotein. An E. coli expression plasmid was constructed that contained essentially all of the open reading frame for this gene. Antibodies raised in rabbits against the protein expressed in bacteria by this plasmid immunoprecipitated pseudorabies virus-specific glycoproteins of 92,000 and 74,000 daltons from infected cell extracts. It is likely that these two forms represent different glycosylation states of the protein.

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Cross-hybridization has been detected between corresponding regions of the genomes of bovine adenovirus type 3 and human adenovirus type 2. The most conserved region on the viral genomes encodes the hexon polypeptide. The nucleotide sequence of this region in bovine adenovirus type 3 has been determined. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequences of the bovine adenovirus type 3 and human adenovirus type 2 hexon polypeptides reveals three regions of nonhomology. Adenoviridae is a family of viruses comprised of over 80 members, all sharing similar structural, serological, and biological properties. They have been isolated from species as diverse as amphibians, birds, and mammals and, in several cases, identified as clinically important pathogens. These viruses provide an ideal system to study host-virus interactions and viral evolution. However, comparative studies of the viral genome have been largely limited to human adenoviruses (6, 7, 20). So far, there have been only a few studies that have examined the relationship between adenoviruses of human and nonprimate origins (1, 12). Bovine adenovirus type 3 (BAV-3) was isolated by Darbyshire et al. in 1965 (4). The role of this virus in the bovine respiratory disease complex has been documented (5, 13). This virus is oncogenic in newborn hamsters (3) and is capable of transforming mouse and hamster cells in vitro (16, 23). BAV-3 shares a group-specific, complement-fixation antigen with human adenoviruses (2), and its basic biochemical properties have been described previously (11, 17). The purpose of this study is to map the regions of homology between the genome of BAV-3 and human adenovirus type 2 (HAV-2) and to compare the nucleotide sequences of the hexon-coding regions of these two viruses. To facilitate the study of the BAV-3 genome, we cloned into bacterial plasmids all the fragments of the viral DNA generated by restriction enzymes EcoRI, HindIll, or * Corresponding author.

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