Analysis of the human cytomegalovirus genomic region from UL146 through UL147A reveals sequence hypervariability, genotypic stability, and overlapping transcripts.

Background: Although the sequence of the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) genome is generally conserved among unrelated clinical strains, some open reading frames (ORFs) are highly variable. UL146 and UL147, which encode CXC chemokine homologues are among these variable ORFs.

Results: The region of the HCMV genome from UL146 through UL147A was analyzed in clinical strains for sequence variability, genotypic stability, and transcriptional expression.