Promoter activity in the 5′ flanking regions of the Bohle iridovirus ICP 18, ICP 46 and major capsid protein genes

Bohle iridovirus (BIV) belongs to the genus Ranavirus, of which Frog virus 3 (FV-3) is the type species. We are developing BIV as a recombinant viral delivery vector, and as a first step we located specific BIV promoter sequences to drive foreign gene expression in the recombinant virus. By comparison with FV-3 sequences, the genes encoding ICP 18 and ICP 46 in BIV were identified and sequenced. Putative promoter regions of these two early genes and of the major capsid protein (MCP) gene were identified, cloned into pSFM21, and luciferase production was then used to assess the promoter activity of these regions.