Decreased replication capacity of a duck hepatitis B virus mutant with altered distal pre-S region.
We have observed in a previous study that insertion, deletion and partial frameshift mutation in the distal pre-S region did not abolish replication capacity of the duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) (Li et al., 1989, J. Virol. 63, 4965-4968). To compare further the relative replication capacity between the pre-S mutant and wild type virus, ducts were infected with either the wild type DHBV strain or a pre-S mutant (FS-17) characterized by a total change of nine consecutive amino acid codons in the distal pre-S region. Compared with the wild type virus, FS-17 exhibited decreased replication capacity whether in separate or mixed infection. The decreased viral replication was correlated with delayed appearance of supercoiled DNA and viral RNA in the hepatocytes. Besides, FS-17 induced persistent viremia when inoculated into 1-day-old ducklings; hence the transient viremia which had been observed in the previous study was probably due to the time delay needed to generate compensatory deletion mutation.
Unité de Recherche sur les Hépatites, le SIDA et les Rétrovirus Humains U271, Lyon, France.
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JS
Li
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Fourel
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Jaquet
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Trépo
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005814:Genes, Viral; D015611:Hepatitis B Virus, Duck / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D006524:Hepatitis, Viral, Animal / Q000382:microbiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D014766:Viremia / Q000382:microbiology; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000235:genetics
D004279:DNA, Viral; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014764:Viral Proteins