Genomic characterization of japanese macaque rhadinovirus, a novel herpesvirus isolated from a nonhuman primate with a spontaneous inflammatory demyelinating disease

Japanese macaque rhadinovirus (JMRV) is a novel gamma-2 herpesvirus that was isolated from a Japanese macaque (JM) with an inflammatory demyelinating encephalomyelitis referred to as Japanese macaque encephalomyelitis, a disease that possesses clinical and histopathological features resembling multiple sclerosis in humans. Genomic DNA sequence analysis reveals that JMRV isa gammaherpesvirus closely related to rhesus macaque rhadinovirus (RRV) and human herpesvirus 8. We describe here the completenucleotide sequence and structure of the JMRV genome, as well as the sequence of two plaque isolates of this virus.Analysis ofthe JMRV genome not only demonstrates that this virus shares a number of genes with RRV that may be involved in pathogenesisbut also indicates the presence of unique JMRV genes that could potentially contribute to disease development.The knowledge ofthe genomic sequence of JMRV, and the ability to easily propagate the virus in vitro, make JMRV infection of JM anattractive model for examining the potential role of an infectious viral agent in the development of demyelinating encephalomyelitis disese in vivo.