Us9-independent axonal sorting and transport of the pseudorabies virus glycoprotein gM

Axonal sorting and transport of fully assembled pseudorabies virus (PRV) virions is dependent on the viral protein Us9. Here we identify a Us9-independent mechanism for axonal localization of viral glycoproteinM(gM). We detected gM-mCherry assemblies transporting in the anterograde direction in axons. Furthermore, unlabeled gM, but not glycoprotein B, was detected by Western blotting in isolated axons during Us9-null PRV infection. These results suggest that gM differs from other viral proteins regarding axonal transport properties.