The Open Virology Journal

2012, 6 : 38-48
Published online 2012 April 11. DOI: 10.2174/1874357901206010038
Publisher ID: TOVJ-6-38

RESEARCH ARTICLE
 The microRNA Transcriptome of Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV)

Mesfin K Meshesha 1 , Isana Veksler-Lublinsky 2 , Ofer Isakov 3 , Irit Reichenstein 1 , Noam Shomron 3 , Klara Kedem 2 , Michal Ziv-Ukelson 2 , Zvi Bentwich 1 and Yonat Shemer Avni , *,1
1 Department of Virology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
2 Department of Computer Science, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
3 Cell and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Israel

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Virology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel; Tel: +972 8 6403133; E-mail: yonat@bgu.ac.il

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the present study was to characterize the microRNA transcriptome (miRNAome) of the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV or HHV5). We used deep sequencing and real time PCR (qPCR) together with bioinformatics to analyze the pattern of small RNA expression in cells infected with low-passage isolates of HCMV as well as in plasma and amniotic fluid. We report here on the discovery of four new precursors and ten new miRNAs as well as eleven microRNA-offset-RNAs (moRs) that are all encoded by HCMV. About eighty percent of the total HCMV reads were perfectly mapped to HCMV miRNAs, strongly suggestive of their important biological role that in large remains still to be defined and characterized. Taken altogether, the results of this study demonstrate the power and usefulness of the combined bioinformatics/biological approach in discovering additional important members of HCMV- encoded small RNAs and can be applied to the study of other viruses as well.

Keywords:

Cytomegalovirus, HCMV, HHV5, miRNAs, moR, deep sequencing, transcriptome, bioinformatics..