IMMUNOLOGICAL ADENOVIRUS VARIANT STRAINS OF SUBGENUS-D - COMPARISON OF THE HEXON AND FIBER SEQUENCES

The fiber and hexon genes of the immunological adenovirus (Ad) variant strains Ad9/Hx and Ad15/Hx, belonging to subgenus D, were sequenced a nd compared to the corresponding sequences of the prototypes Ad9 and A d15. It was found that the variants possessed a novel and identical he magglutinin as they could not be distinguished by hemagglutination-inh ibition tests. These serological data were now confirmed on DNA and pr otein level. The analyzed hexon regions of Ad15 and Ad15/Hx, and Ad9 a nd Ad9/Hx, respectively, were 100% identical on the amino acid level. The comparison between the variant fibers revealed that they possessed an identical fiber, which was distinct from the Ad9 and Ad15 fiber po lypeptides. It seems likely that the donor of the novel fiber protein was a so far unidentified subgroup D adenovirus. The fiber polypeptide s of Ad9 and the variants revealed the highest homology (73.7%), where as the variants and the Ad15 fiber had only 64.2% of the amino acids i n common. Most of the differences between the adenovirus serotypes wer e detected in the fiber knob. Seven conserved sequences found for subg enus D fibers could be confirmed for the fibers of the variants. Furth ermore, the data presented complement the knowledge on the organizatio n of subgenus D fiber genes. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.