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Discovery of Noninfectious Viral Genes Complementary to Marek's Disease Herpes Virus in Quail Susceptible to Cholesterol-Induced Atherosclerosis^{1, 2,}

Department of Poultry Science ^* Department of Microbiology, Pathology and Parasitology North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695

Japanese quail genetically selected on the basis of atherosclerosis susceptibility were tested for infection by Marek's disease herpesvirus (MDV). Viral DNA was detected in the atherosclerotic aortas of susceptible (SUS) quail by the technique of DNA hybridization. Southern blot analysis demonstrated that restriction mapping of aortic DNA was specific and different from that of MDV. Screening of quail embryos by dot-blot hybridization detected that MDV DNA existed in 100% of SUS quail tested. Resistant (RES) quail were a mixed population, with 16% of embryos resembling the SUS group. Functional MDV was not found by a number of methods including virus isolation, serological test, and exposure of sentinel chicks to SUS quail. These results suggest that the SUS quail possess a portion of the MDV genome in the germline, and the viral genes have been coselected by their susceptibility to cholesterol-induced atherosclerosis.

KEY WORDS: • atherosclerosis • Japanese quail • Marek's disease herpesvirus • viral DNA • genetics of atherosclerosis • cholesterol

¹ Presented as part of the 53rd Annual Poultry Nutrition Conference, given at the 1988 Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Las Vegas, NV, May 1, 1988.

² Partially funded by a grant from Burroughs Wellcome Company, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Journal paper No. 10883 of North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7643.

³ To whom reprint requests and correspondence should be addressed.

Manuscript received 1 August 1988. Revision accepted 4 October 1988.