Human Circovirus TT Virus Genotype 6 Expresses Six Proteins following Transfection of a Full-Length Clone†

The expression profile of the circovirus TTV has not yet been fully characterized. In this paper, we show that following transfection of a full-length viral clone of TTV genotype 6, each of the three virally encoded mRNAs is translated from two initiating AUGs, and therefore, the TTV genome generates at least six proteins. Localization studies of hemagglutinin-tagged versions of these proteins in fixed cells, and green fluorescent protein-tagged versions of these proteins in living cells, expressed following transfection, demonstrated that two were primarily nuclear, two were primarily cytoplasmic, and two were found throughout the cell.