Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Virus and Prion Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #129419
Title: CONSERVATION OF CODING POTENTIAL AND TERMINAL SEQUENCES IN FOUR DIFFERENT ISOLATES OF BORNA DISEASE VIRUS

Author
item PLESCHKA, S - INST VIROLOGY, GIESSEN GM
item STAEHELI, P - INST VIROLOGY, GIESSEN GM
item KOLODZIEJEK, J - INST VIROLOGY, GIESSEN GM
item Richt, Juergen
item NOWOTNY, N - INST VIROLOGY, GIESSEN GM
item SCHWEMMLE, M - INST VIROLOGY, GIESSEN GM

Submitted to: Journal of General Virology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2001
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Borna disease (BD) is a sporadically occurring, usually fatal polioencephalomyelitis that primarily affects horses and sheep. More rarely, a range of other domestic and zoo species and possibly humans are affected. The etiological agent of BD, the Borna Disease Virus (BDV), is an enveloped virus characterized by a non-segmented negative strand RNA genome ethat belongs to the new family Bornaviridae within the order Mononegavirales. As part of our ongoing studies on the molecular epidemiology of BDV, we determined the complete nucleotide sequences of two poorly characterized strains of Borna disease virus (BDV) and compared them to reference strains V and He/80. Strain H1766 was almost 98% and 95% identical to strains V and He/80, respectively. In contrast to earlier reports, we found an additional A residue at the extreme 3'-end of the single-stranded RNA genome in all four BDV strains. This work is important for the future development of techniques that will permit the genetic manipulation of BDV, which will help us to target areas for prophylactic intervention and treatment.

Technical Abstract: We determined the complete nucleotide sequences of two poorly characterized strains of Borna disease virus (BDV) and compared them to reference strains V and He/80. Strain H1766 was almost 98% and 95% identical to strains V and He/80, respectively, whereas strain No/98 was only about 81% identical to both reference strains. In contrast to earlier reports, we found an additional A residue at the extreme 3'-end of the single-stranded RNA genome in all four BDV strains. The exact numbers of nucleotides in the four BDV genomes could not be determined due to a micro-heterogeneity at the 5'-end. If our longest sequence is a correct copy of the viral RNA, the two ends of the BDV genome would show almost perfect complementarity. All three transcription start sites, all four termination sites, both splice donor sites and both major splice acceptor sites are highly conserved, whereas a minor alternative splice acceptor site is not. The L protein of No/98 differs at 7% of its amino acid positions from the polymerase in the other strains, with most differences mapping to the C-terminal moiety of the molecule. Re-evaluation of L protein sequences of strains V and He/80 revealed differences at several positions compared to published information, indicating that variant forms of the viral polymerase have previously been characterized. These results are important because correct structures of genome ends and of the polymerase gene are the most critical parameters for the future development of techniques that will permit the genetic manipulation of BDV.