Epstein-Barr Virus: The B95-8 Strain Map

This chapter summarizes the genes and mRNAs that have been mapped on to the B95-8 EBV genome. The complete sequence of this strain of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) was established (1 ,2 ) and data from many publications has been integrated into the map, which is an update of that published previously (3 ). The B95-8 strain grows well in laboratory culture and transforms human B lymphocytes efficiently, but B95-8 EBV has about 11.8 kb deleted relative to other strains of EBV. The sequence of that region has been determined in the Raji strain of EBV and a map has been published (4 ). Detailed literature citations for most of the features have been published (3 ). The map should be used in conjunction with the B95-8 EBV DNA sequence, which can be accessed in the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL; embl:ebv.seq) or Genbank databases. The feature tables shown in those database files have not yet been revised so the information shown in this map is considerably more up to date.