Complete Genome Sequence of Equine Herpesvirus Type 9

Abstract

Equine herpesvirus type 9 (EHV-9), which we isolated from a case of epizootic encephalitis in a herd of Thomson's gazelles ( Gazella thomsoni ) in 1993, has been known to cause fatal encephalitis in Thomson's gazelle, giraffe, and polar bear in natural infections. Our previous report indicated that EHV-9 was similar to the equine pathogen equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1), which mainly causes abortion, respiratory infection, and equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy. We determined the genome sequence of EHV-9. The genome has a length of 148,371 bp and all 80 of the open reading frames (ORFs) found in the genome of EHV-1. The nucleotide sequences of the ORFs in EHV-9 were 86 to 95% identical to those in EHV-1. The whole genome sequence should help to reveal the neuropathogenicity of EHV-9.