Analysis of the complete nucleotide sequence of a white spot syndrome virus isolated from Pacific white shrimp

The fourth complete genome sequence of the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) from Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) isolated from Korea (WSSV-KR) was determined. The genome is composed of 295,884 bp encompassing 515 open reading frames (ORFs) among which 90 showed no sequence homology with any known protein in BLAST searches. The remaining 425 ORFs encode functional proteins including enzymes for nucleic acid metabolism, DNA replication and transcription, and several major structural proteins. Dot plot and linear comparisons of WSSV Korean strain with other WSSV isolates showed overall similarity but with some areas of sequence difference and one large deletion area.