title: Full sequence analysis and characterization of the South Korean Norovirus GII-4 variant CUK-3.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many of researchers have focused on the emerging pathogen, Norovirus, since its first identification as the causing agent of nonbacterial acute gastroenteritis in humans. One of the virulence factors of norovirus, the great genetic diversity attributed to point mutations and recombinations, has brought forth the result of significant changes in the circulating norovirus genotype patterns.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In recognition of the necessity for tracking and monitoring of genetic diversity, a norovirus variant among the most prevalent genotype GII-4, Norovirus Hu/GII-4/CUK-3/2008/KR (CUK-3), was isolated from stool samples and analyzed on the level of whole genome sequence. Whole genome sequence analysis revealed three ORF composites of the whole genome, ORF1 (5100 bp), ORF2 (1623 bp), and ORF3 (807 bp). Each genetic relationship of CUK-3 variant analysis located the ORF1 (5,100 bp) in Cluster I, ORF2 (1623 bp) in Cluster I (2006b), ORF3 (807 bp) in Cluster I, and the whole genome sequence (about 5.1 kb) in Cluster I in the phylogenetic tree. And the phylogenetic analyses showed the same location of CUK-3 strain with the GII-4/2006b cluster in the phylogenetic tree.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In This study, a first concerning the full-length sequence of a NoV variant in South Korea is meaningful in that it can be used not only as a full-length NoV variant sequence standard for future comparison studies, but also as useful material for the public health field by enabling the diagnosis, vaccine development, and prediction of new emerging variants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Animal Biotechnology, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Center for Agricultural Biomaterials, and Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea. sangryu@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jeong-Woong
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sung-Geun
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Young-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Weon-Hwa
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Jheong
authors.forename: Sangryeol
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.forename: Soon-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Paik
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D017250:Caliciviridae Infections / Q000821:virology*; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000821:virology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D029322:Norovirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA