Naturally occurring serotype 2/subgroup II rotavirus reassortants in northern Brazil

Nine serotype 2 human rotavirus strains were isolated in a community-based longitudinal study in Northern Brazil. Five of these strains had a 'long' RNA electrophoretic pattern and all five strains were determined to belong to subgroup II by ELISA assay, in contrast to properties common to serotype 2 human rotaviruses previously characterized. Hybridization studies of one of these unusual strains with 32P-labelled mRNAs derived from the prototype human strains Wa (serotype 1, subgroup II) and S2 (serotype 2, subgroup I) suggested that it was generated by a reassortment event in nature, in which a subgroup II, 'long' electropherotype rotavirus exchanged its serotype-specific gene and gene number 10 for the equivalent genes from a serotype 2, 'short' electropherotype virus.