Concentration of acrylamide in a polyacrylamide gel affects VP4 gene coding assignment of group A equine rotavirus strains with P[12] specificity.
BACKGROUND
It is universally acknowledged that genome segment 4 of group A rotavirus, the major etiologic agent of severe diarrhea in infants and neonatal farm animals, encodes outer capsid neutralization and protective antigen VP4.


RESULTS
To determine which genome segment of three group A equine rotavirus strains (H-2, FI-14 and FI-23) with P[12] specificity encodes the VP4, we analyzed dsRNAs of strains H-2, FI-14 and FI-23 as well as their reassortants by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) at varying concentrations of acrylamide. The relative position of the VP4 gene of the three equine P[12] strains varied (either genome segment 3 or 4) depending upon the concentration of acrylamide. The VP4 gene bearing P[3], P[4], P[6], P[7], P[8] or P[18] specificity did not exhibit this phenomenon when the PAGE running conditions were varied.


CONCLUSIONS
The concentration of acrylamide in a PAGE gel affected VP4 gene coding assignment of equine rotavirus strains bearing P[12] specificity.
Long-Croal
LaShanda M
LM
Rotavirus Vaccine Development Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, NIAID, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Wen
Xiaobo
X
Ostlund
Eileen N
EN
Hoshino
Yasutaka
Y
D020106:Acrylamide / Q000032:analysis*; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity
D036022:Capsid Proteins; D012367:RNA, Viral; D020106:Acrylamide