CHARACTERIZATION OF THE GENE ENCODING CORE PROTEIN VP6 OF 2 AFRICAN HORSESICKNESS VIRUS SEROTYPES

The genes encoding the inner core protein VP6 of African horsesickness virus (AHSV) serotypes 3 and 6 have been cloned and sequenced. The ge nes are 1169 nucleotides in length and both encode a largely hydrophil ic protein of 369 amino acids. The VP6 amino acid sequence is highly c onserved between the two serotypes with an overall similarity of 95%. Comparison of the AHSV VP6 amino acid sequences with those of bluetong ue virus serotype 10 VP6 revealed that it is 41 amino acids longer wit h an overall amino acid identity of 29%. The similarity is mainly conf ined to a short but highly conserved 13 amino acid region at the N ter minus, a short seven amino acid region at the C terminus and a 22 amin o acid region close to the C terminus. Within this last region is a sm aller 11 amino acid region from 318 to 328 with a 91% similarity to th e Rep helicase of Escherichia coli.