title: New Calicivirus isolated from walrus.
abstract: The nucleotide sequence and genome organization of a new member of Caliciviridae was determined. Cell culture inoculated with fecal matter from walrus was used to recover fragments of a new virus by Suppression Subtractive Hybridization (SSH). The isolate was identified as a member of the Vesivirus genus of Caliciviridae and designated the name Walrus Calicivirus (WCV). Sets of PCR primers spanning the entire putative genome were designed using known sequences of other vesiviruses. The assembled genome was 8289 nucleotides (nt) long and shared no more than 87% identity with sequences of the other members of the genus Vesivirus. The largest open reading frame (ORF1) between positions 4-5646 encoded a polyprotein. ORF2, found at position 5652-7778, encoded a putative capsid protein. ORF3 overlapped ORF2 and encoded a small basic protein. Comparative analysis of multiple caliciviral capsid proteins was performed to propose a uniform capsid structural organization for this viral family.
authors.affiliation: Division of Viral Hepatitis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Infectious Diseases, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS A-33 Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. lkg@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Lilia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ganova-Raeva
authors.forename: Alvin W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fields
authors.forename: Yury
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Khudyakov
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002139:Caliciviridae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017250:Caliciviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D016679:Genome, Viral; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D020815:Polyproteins / Q000235:genetics; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014856:Walruses / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins; D020815:Polyproteins; D012367:RNA, Viral