title: Comparative sequence analysis of the reovirus S4 genes from 13 serotype 1 and serotype 3 field isolates.
abstract: The reovirus sigma 3 protein is a major outer capsid protein that may function to regulate translation within infected cells. To facilitate the understanding of sigma 3 structure and functions and the evolution of mammalian reoviruses, we sequenced cDNA copies of the S4 genes from 10 serotype 3 and 3 serotype 1 reovirus field isolates and compared these sequences with sequences of prototypic strains of the three reovirus serotypes. We found that the sigma 3 proteins are highly conserved: the two longest conserved regions contain motifs proposed to function in binding zinc and double-stranded RNA. We used the 16 viral isolates to investigate the hypothesis that structural interactions between sigma 3 and the cell attachment protein, sigma 1, constrain their evolution and to identify a determinant within sigma 3 that is in close proximity to the sigma 1 hemagglutination site.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kedl
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmechel
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schiff
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D002417:Cattle; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D012087:Reoviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D000939:Epitopes; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins; C053179:sigma protein 3, Reovirus