title: Genetic diversity of the M RNA segment among Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus isolates in China.
abstract: The complete nucleotide sequences of the medium (M) segment of seven Chinese isolates of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus were determined. The M-segment RNA of CCHF virus comprises 5356-5377 nucleotides depending on the isolate and encodes a protein comprising 1689-1697 amino acids in a viral complementary sense. Phylogenetic analysis of the M segment showed that the Chinese CCHF virus isolates were clustered into three groups, one of which was more closely related to a Nigerian isolate. Pairwise comparison of a precursor protein showed that amino-terminal regions comprising 250 amino acids were extraordinary heterogeneous, with a 22.4% identity in amino acids being observed between the most distantly related isolates. Since all the viruses were isolated from 1966 to 1988 within a restricted area in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in western China, the results indicate that a multisource virus population is endemic in this region.
authors.affiliation: Special Pathogens Laboratory, Department of Virology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama, Tokyo, Japan. morikawa@nih.go.jp
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morikawa
authors.forename: Tang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Qing
authors.forename: Zhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xinqin
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saijo
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kurane
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D003225:Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006479:Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D012377:Rodentia; D013987:Ticks
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral