title: Conservation of coding potential and terminal sequences in four different isolates of Borna disease virus.
abstract: We determined the complete nucleotide sequences of two poorly characterized strains of Borna disease virus (BDV) and compared them to reference strains V and He/80. Strain H1766 was almost 98% and 95% identical to strains V and He/80, respectively, whereas strain No/98 was only about 81% identical to both reference strains. In contrast to earlier reports, we found an additional A residue at the extreme 3'-end of the single-stranded RNA genome in all four BDV strains. The exact numbers of nucleotides in the four BDV genomes could not be determined due to a micro-heterogeneity at the 5'-end. If our longest sequence is a correct copy of the viral RNA, the two ends of the BDV genome would show almost perfect complementarity. All three transcription start sites, all four termination sites, both splice donor sites and both major splice acceptor sites are highly conserved, whereas a minor alternative splice acceptor site is not. The L protein of No/98 differs at 7% of its amino acid positions from the polymerase in the other strains, with most differences mapping to the C-terminal moiety of the molecule. Re-evaluation of L protein sequences of strains V and He/80 revealed differences at several positions compared to published information, indicating that variant forms of the viral polymerase have previously been characterized. These results are important because correct structures of genome ends and of the polymerase gene are the most critical parameters for the future development of techniques that will permit the genetic manipulation of BDV.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, University of Giessen, D-35392 Giessen, Germany1.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pleschka
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Strasse 11, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany2.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Staeheli
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, University of Veterinary Sciences Vienna, A-1210 Vienna, Austria3.
authors.forename: Jolanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kolodziejek
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, University of Giessen, D-35392 Giessen, Germany1.
authors.forename: Jürgen A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Richt
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates4.|Institute of Virology, University of Veterinary Sciences Vienna, A-1210 Vienna, Austria3.
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nowotny
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Strasse 11, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany2.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwemmle
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001890:Borna Disease / Q000821:virology*; D001891:Borna disease virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000821:virology; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014709:Vero Cells; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D014764:Viral Proteins; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases