Molecular epidemiology of rubella by nucleotide sequences of the rubella virus E1 gene in three East Asian countries.
Twenty-six strains of rubella virus were compared with each other for a molecular epidemiologic study of the virus in three East Asian countries, using the E1 gene of 1443 nucleotides and the following 41 nucleotides in a noncoding region. Nucleotide substitution rates among strains were 0.0-9.4/100 nucleotides. A phylogenetic tree drawn indicated that 2 of 3 Chinese strains were quite different from the other 24 strains; all isolates in the 1960s were classified into a single group independent of the place of isolation, which includes isolates from Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom; 11 strains of Japanese isolates collected during 1976-1991 made one subbranch derived from the 1960s group; and 2 isolates from the northeast part of Japan in 1990 made a third but minor unique branch. Therefore, at least two groups of the virus cocirculated in Japan around 1990. Antigenic variation of the virus was very small among these strains.
Katow
S
S
Department of Viral Disease and Vaccine Control, National Institute of Health, Tokyo, Japan.
Minahara
H
H
Fukushima
M
M
Yamaguchi
Y
Y
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004279:DNA, Viral; D005202:Asia, Eastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D005814:Genes, Viral; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012409:Rubella / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D012412:Rubella virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C061826:E1 envelope protein, Rubella virus