InterPro: IPR001616 Alphaherpesvirus alkaline exonuclease

Equid herpesvirus 1 (Equine herpesvirus 1) is a respiratory virus capable of causing abortion and neurological disease. Its complete DNA sequence has been determined [1] and the constituent genes found to be arranged co-linearly with those in the genomes of other alphaherpesviruses, namely Human herpesvirus 3 (HHV-3) and Human herpesvirus 1 (HHV-1) [1]. Comparisons of the predicted amino acid sequences have allowed functions of many EHV-1 proteins to be inferred.

For example, detailed analysis of HHV-1 and Human herpesvirus 2 (HHV-2) DNA has revealed an open reading frame sufficient to encode 626 amino acids for the HHV-1 alkaline exonuclease (620 amino acids for HHV-2) [2]. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequences of the viral enzymes has revealed significant differences in the N-terminal portions of the proteins; nevertheless, their three-dimensional structures are believed to be similar.