Scientists discover unknown proteins of the Herpes virus

Scientists have sequenced the herpes virus genome identifying several hundred previously unknown proteins, paving the way for better understanding of complex mechanisms used by the virus. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Biochemistry in Martinsried near Munich and the University of California in San Francisco have shown that the genome of this virus contains much more information than previously assumed. More than 80 per cent of the world’s population is infected with the herpes virus, which can cause severe diseases in newborns and in persons with weakened immune system. Researchers had already sequenced the herpes virus genome 20 years ago, thinking they could then predict all proteins that the virus produces (virus proteome). Now, scientists have analysed the information content of the genome more precisely. To carry out their study, the scientists infected cells with herpes virus and observed which proteins the virus produced inside the cell over a period of 72 hours. In...