Claims
- 1. A method for reducing pathogenicity or virulence of a Marek's disease herpesvirus whereby a gene which encodes a glycoprotein selected from glycoproteins I and E is altered which reduces the pathogenicity or virulence of the Marek's disease herpesvirus.
- 2. A method for attenuating a Marek's disease herpesvirus, the steps comprising:
- a) introducing one or more mutations in at least one gene which encodes a glycoprotein selected from glycoproteins I and E wherein the mutation causes the corresponding mutated gene to fail to produce a functional polypeptide to produce the attenuated Marek's disease herpesvirus; and
- b) isolating the attenuated Marek's disease virus.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the mutation is contained within a DNA sequence of the Marek's disease herpesvirus comprising identity to SEQ ID NO:1.
- 4. The method of claim 2 wherein the gene is mutagenized by inserting a foreign gene into the gene wherein the foreign gene produces a functional foreign polypeptide in the virus to produce the attenuated Marek's disease herpesvirus.
- 5. The method of either claim 2 or 3 wherein the mutation is selected from deletions, insertions of foreign DNA, and mutations introduced by site-directed mutagenesis.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a Division of Ser. No. 07/736,335, filed Jul. 25, 1991, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/572,711, filed Aug. 24, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,033.
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
736335 |
Jul 1991 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
572711 |
Aug 1990 |
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