Journal of General Virology, Vol 79, 2809-2817, Copyright © 1998 by Society for General Microbiology

ARTICLES

Diversity of naturally occurring Epstein-Barr virus revealed by nucleotide sequence polymorphism in hypervariable domains in the BamHI K and N subgenomic regions

D Triantos, AW Boulter, JC Leao, L Di Alberti, SR Porter, CM Scully, W Birnbaum, NW Johnson and CG Teo
Virus Reference Division, Central Public Health Laboratory, London, UK.

The extent of nucleotide sequence microheterogeneity varies among subgenomic regions of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). We examined, in EBV- carrying lymphoid cell lines, the extent of polymorphism in EBV DNA fragments amplified from the BamHI E, K, N and Z regions, and then investigated the diversity of the more hypervariable regions in tissues and body fluids. In cell lines, sequence dissimilarities in a genotype- specifying fragment of the EBNA-3C gene varied from < 1-4% within each genotype; dissimilarities in the first intron of the BZLF- 1 gene were < 2% within each genotype. By contrast, dissimilarities in a C-terminal unique domain of the EBNA-1 gene, and in a fragment that encompasses and is upstream of the LMP-1 start codon, varied between 2 and 7% and were not genotype-specific. The sequence diversity in BamHI K and N regions was then examined in tissues and body fluids by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis and cycle sequencing. Extensive inter-host diversity was observed, whether the host was co- infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or not. In the oral cavity of HIV-infected patients, inter-compartmental EBV diversity could be demonstrated, even between sites that were anatomically proximate. Studies of BamHI K clones derived from EBV in oral lesions revealed infection by multiple variants. Identification of hypermutable loci within the EBV genome such as those located in the BamHI K and N regions should permit fine discrimination of individual EBV variants.

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