An African swine fever virus gene with a similarity to

African swine fever (ASF), a contagious tick borne disease of domestic pigs, is the result of infection with African swine fever virus (4, 5, 12). The enveloped icosahedral ASF virus particle contains a genome consisting of a single linear double stranded DNA molecule of 170—190 kilobase pairs with covalently cross-linked termini (8). ASFV replicates in the cell cytoplasm (17). Although, the host nucleus is required for replication (7), viral mRNA transcripts are transcribed, capped and polyadenylated by ASFV encoded enzymes (11, 15). ASFV RNA polymerase snares some properties with vaccinia virus RNA polymerase, a holoenzyme composed of at least eight subunits (2). Both polymerases initiate site specific transcription exclusively from viral promoters (16), are not inhibited by the RNA Pol II inhibitor, a-amanitin and are found packaged in the virion (14). Open reading frame (ORF), PMWK-CL (140 amino acids