Taxonomic Structure of the Subfamily
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Subfamily |
Gammaherpesvirinae |
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Genus |
Lymphocryptovirus |
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Genus |
Rhadinovirus |
The nucleotide or predicted amino acid sequences form a distinct lineage within the family. Certain genes may be unique to members of the family. These include BNRF-1, BTRF-1 and BRLF-1 of HHV-5 (the corresponding ORFs of Saimiriine herpesvirus 2 are ORFs 3, 23 and 50). Many members of the subfamily infect lymphocytes in vitro and ‘carrier’ cultures can be established in which a minority of cells is productively infected. Latent infection in vivo occurs in lymphocytes or lymphoid tissue. Acute infection is frequently associated with lymphoproliferative disorders and many members of the subfamily are associated with malignancies of lymphoid and non-lymphoid origin.
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