The persistent variant of influenza C virus carries one characteristic point mutation in RNA segment 1.
Influenza C/ Ann Arbor/1/50-pi(C/AA-pi) virus causes persistent infections in MDCK and Wi38 cells, but sets limited, wild-type like infections in other cells. Concluding that persistence itself it dependent on the host environment, we determined the nucleotide sequence of the C/AA-pi analogous gene to the basic polymerase 2 (PB2) of influenza A virus, which is known to be a determinant for the host range. C/AA-pi and the parental wild-type virus (C/AA-wt) have 16 nucleotides in common that are different to a previously published PB2 sequence (C/JJ/50). These variations, which are probably due to divergent passages histories, are scattered along the sequence and are partially found in another published isolate (C/Berlin/1/85). One single mutation, however, is unique to the persistent variant. Nucleotide 28 mutated from T to C which leads to a change of amino acid 3 from Leu to Phe. This substitution is stably associated with the persistent phenotype throughout multiple passages in different cells lines and eggs and cannot be found in any other influenza C viruses.
Lapatschek
M S
MS
Abteilung für Virologie, Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Technischen Universität München, Germany.
Marschall
M
M
Meier-Ewert
H
H
D001483:Base Sequence; D005814:Genes, Viral; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D009982:Gammainfluenzavirus / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017354:Point Mutation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
D012367:RNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins; C077346:influenza virus polymerase basic protein 1