Human cytomegalovirus UL34 early and late proteins are essential for viral replication.

UL34 is one of the ~50 genes of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) required for replication in cell culture in human fibroblasts. UL34 encodes highly related early (UL34a) and late (UL34b) proteins that are virtually identical, with the early protein containing an additional 21 amino terminal amino acids. The UL34 proteins are sequence-specific DNA‑binding proteins that localize to the nucleus.

Antibiosis-type insect resistance in transgenic plants expressing a teratocyte secretory protein (TSP14) gene from a hymenopteran endoparasite (Microplitis croceipes).

We have isolated a teratocyte secretory protein (TSP14) gene product from a hymenopteran endoparasite that disrupts the growth of lepidopteran insect larvae. To evaluate the insecticidal activity of TSP14 for the protection of crops from insect damage, chimeric gene constructs of TSP14 were expressed in transgenic plants. The coding sequence of the TSP14 gene, with and without its native signal peptide, was placed between the modified peanut chlorotic streak virus (PClSV) full-length transcript (FLt) promoter with duplicated enhancer domains and the terminator sequence from the rbcSE9 gene.

Identification of the functional domains of the essential human cytomegalovirus UL34 proteins.

The human cytomegalovirus UL34 gene represses expression of the US3 immune evasion gene and is essential for viral replication in cell culture. Two highly related proteins, an early and a late protein, are synthesized at different times during infection from the UL34 gene. The late protein differs from the early protein only by the omission of 21 amino terminal amino acids.