Comparative Analysis of Viral Gene Expression Programs during Poxvirus Infection: A Transcriptional Map of the Vaccinia and Monkeypox Genomes

Background: Poxviruses engage in a complex and intricate dialogue with host cells as part of their strategy for replication. However, relatively little molecular detail is available with which to understand the mechanisms behind this dialogue. Methodology/Principal Findings: We designed a specialized microarray that contains probes specific to all predicted ORFs in the Monkeypox Zaire (MPXV) and Vaccinia Western Reserve (VACV) genomes, as well as .18,000 human genes, and used this tool to characterize MPXV and VACV gene expression responses in vitro during the course of primary infection of human monocytes, primary human fibroblasts and HeLa cells. The two viral transcriptomes show distinct features of temporal regulation and species-specific gene expression, and provide an early foundation for understanding global gene expression responses during poxvirus infection. Conclusions/Significance: The results provide a temporal map of the transcriptome of each virus during infection, enabling us to compare viral gene expression across species, and classify expression patterns of previously uncharacterized ORFs.