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A model for the development of the tandem repeat units in the EBV ori-P region and a discussion of their possible function

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Summary

This paper presents an analysis of the repeat units of the ori-P region of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome. These repeat units are well-conserved palindromes. The pattern of these repeats, their lengths, phases, and the distribution of the relatively few substitutions are explained by a scenario that gives a reasonable course for the evolutionary development of the pattern. The scenario suggests a model for the production of an initiating 3/2 palindrome from a moderately lengthy sequence. The palindromic units are then multiplied in judicious combinations by mechanisms of unequal crossing-over events associated with some point substitutions and a few instances of slippage replication. The potential secondary structures of the two separated tandem palindromic repeat regions in ori-P are contrasted. Possible modes of binding of Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen (EBNA) 1 protein to these hairpins are discussed. A number of possibilities for the origin and development of the ori-P region in relation to viral and cellular function are considered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, Stanford University, 94305, Stanford, California, USA

    Samuel Karlin

  2. Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine, 440 Page Mill Road, 94306, Palo Alto, California, USA

    B. Edwin Blaisdell

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  1. Samuel Karlin
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  2. B. Edwin Blaisdell
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Karlin, S., Blaisdell, B.E. A model for the development of the tandem repeat units in the EBV ori-P region and a discussion of their possible function. J Mol Evol 25, 215–229 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02100015

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02100015

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