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Science 5 December 1997:
Vol. 278. no. 5344, pp. 1800 - 1803
DOI: 10.1126/science.278.5344.1800
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Reports

Hyaluronan Synthase of Chlorella Virus PBCV-1

Paul L. DeAngelis, * Wei Jing, Michael V. Graves, Dwight E. Burbank, James L. Van Etten

Sequence analysis of the 330-kilobase genome of the virus PBCV-1 that infects a chlorella-like green algae revealed an open reading frame, A98R, with similarity to several hyaluronan synthases. Hyaluronan is an essential polysaccharide found in higher animals as well as in a few pathogenic bacteria. Expression of the A98R gene product in Escherichia coli indicated that the recombinant protein is an authentic hyaluronan synthase. A98R is expressed early in PBCV-1 infection and hyaluronan is produced in infected algae. These results demonstrate that a virus can encode an enzyme capable of synthesizing a carbohydrate polymer and that hyaluronan exists outside of animals and their pathogens.

P. L. DeAngelis and W. Jing, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 940 Stanton L. Young Boulevard, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.
M. V. Graves, D. E. Burbank, J. L. Van Etten, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0722, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed: E-mail: paul-deangelis{at}OUHSC.edu

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Inaugural Article: Biography of James L. Van Etten.
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Identification and Molecular Cloning of a Unique Hyaluronan Synthase from Pasteurella multocida.
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Topological Organization of the Hyaluronan Synthase from Streptococcus pyogenes.
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