title: Major core protein VP7 of Australian bluetongue virus serotype 15: sequence and antigenicity divergence from other BTV serotypes.
abstract: Full-length cDNA of the RNA genome segment coding for the major core protein VP7 of Australian bluetongue virus serotype 15 (BTV-15) has been isolated by reverse transcription-PCR cloning. Comparative analysis indicated that the BTV-15 VP7 sequence had diverged significantly from that of other members of the BTV serogroup. At the amino acid level, BTV-15 VP7 exhibited sequence identities of 80 to 84% with VP7 molecules of other serotypes, significantly lower than the sequence identities of between 93 and 100% observed among other serotypes characterized to date. This was consistent with previous observations that there were significant immunological differences between BTV-15 and other BTV serotypes and that monoclonal antibodies raised against BTV-1 VP7 failed to react with BTV-15 VP7. Recombinant BTV-15 VP7 protein produced from Escherichia coli was largely insoluble, but maintained its immunogenicity. Polyclonal mouse sera raised against the recombinant VP7 protein reacted strongly with VP7 of BTV-15, but weakly with that of BTV-1.
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Victoria.
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kattenbelt
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Gould
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Pritchard
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Crameri
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Eaton
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D001315:Australia; D001483:Base Sequence; D001820:Bluetongue virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D002213:Capsid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016679:Genome, Viral; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012703:Serotyping; D013019:South Africa
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; C050779:VP7 protein, Rotavirus