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Molecular characterization of Lelystad virus
J J Meulenberg1, A Petersen den Besten, E de Kluyver
1Institute for Animal Science and Health, Lelystad, The Netherlands. j.j.m.meulenberg@id.dlo.nl
Veterinary Microbiology
|April 1, 1997
Summary
Lelystad virus (LV), a key cause of porcine reproductive respiratory syndrome, has a genome encoding eight open reading frames. Researchers identified six structural proteins, revealing significant genetic variation between European and North American LV strains.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Molecular Biology
- Genomics
Background:
- Lelystad virus (LV) is the prototype of the Arteriviridae family, responsible for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome.
- LV shares similarities with coronaviruses in genome organization and replication but has a smaller genome (12-15 kb) and distinct properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize the structural proteins of Lelystad virus (LV).
- To determine the genes encoding these structural proteins.
- To investigate genetic variations in LV structural proteins between European and North American isolates.
Main Methods:
- Utilized polyvalent porcine anti-LV serum, gene-specific anti-peptide sera, and monoclonal antibodies.
- Analyzed genomic open reading frames (ORFs) 2 to 7.
- Compared amino acid sequences of structural proteins from different LV isolates.
Main Results:
- Identified six structural proteins of LV, including nucleocapsid (N), membrane (M), and envelope proteins (encoded by ORFs 2-5).
- Determined the specific ORFs responsible for encoding each identified structural protein.
- Observed significant variation in amino acid sequences (55-79% identity) for proteins encoded by ORFs 2-7 between European and North American LV strains.
Conclusions:
- Established a clear correlation between specific ORFs and LV structural proteins.
- Highlighted substantial genetic divergence in structural proteins, particularly between European and North American strains of LV.
- Proposed a nomenclature for the identified LV structural proteins.