Sequence analysis of the VP6 gene in group A turkey and chicken rotaviruses

cDNAs corresponding to the VP6 gene of the turkey rotavirus strains Ty-1 and Ty-3, and the chicken rotavirus strain Ch-1, were cloned and sequenced. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence homology in the coding region of the VP6 gene in avian rotaviruses ranged from 78.1 to 93.9% and 86.1 to 98.7%, respectively. Both sequences of VP6 from avian rotaviruses exhibited a low degree of sequence homology (67.8-70.7% and 69.8-74.6%, respectively) compared with mammalian rotaviruses. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that all avian rotaviruses were included in a single cluster and have separated early or from mammalian rotaviruses during evolution. The chicken rotavirus strain Ch-1 was a distant relative of other avian rotaviruses.