Genetic variation in rotavirus serotype 4 subtypes.
Serotype 4 rotavirus strains have been classified into two antigenic "subtypes" by a solid phase immune electron microscopy technique in which cross-absorbed animal polyclonal immune sera are used as the source of antibodies. The sequences of the gene encoding the outer capsid glycoprotein VP7 from a single serotype 4 rotavirus field strain identified as subtype A ("ST3-like") and from three field strains identified as subtype B ("VA70-like") were determined. A comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences indicated that 15 amino acid residues were divergent between subtypes but were conserved within a subtype. Three of these 15 amino acid residues (at positions 96, 212, and 217) were located in regions of the VP7 that have been defined as serotype-specific antigenic sites. These data suggest that VP7 subtype differences may result from critical amino acid substitutions within an immunodominant serotype 4-specific antigenic site. Whether these differences are an important mechanism in the epidemiology of rotaviruses requires further investigation.
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
Sarasini
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A
Qian
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Gerna
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D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D002213:Capsid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012703:Serotyping
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D036022:Capsid Proteins; C050779:VP7 protein, Rotavirus