MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF THE 11TH RNA SEGMENT FROM HUMAN GROUP-C-ROTAVIRUS

The complete nucleotide sequence of genome segment 11 from the noncult ivatable, human group C rotavirus (Bristol strain) was determined. Com parison of the nucleotide sequence of the segment termini with the con sensus 5' and 3' terminal noncoding sequences of the human group C rot avirus genome revealed characteristic 5' and 3' sequences. Human group C rotavirus genome segment II is 613 bp long and encodes a single ope n reading frame of 450 nucleotides (150 amino acids) starting at nucle otide 39 and terminating at nucleotide 489, leaving a long 3' untransl ated region of 124 nucleotides. The predicted translation product has a calculated molecular weight of 17.7 kD and contains four potential N -linked glycosylation sites. No significant homologies to other viral proteins were found in database searches. Hydropathy analysis predicte d the human group C rotavirus genome segment 11 translation product ha s a hydrophilic carboxy terminus (amino acids 54-150) and a hydrophobi c amino terminus (amino acids 1-53) that can be further subdivided int o three short hydrophobic sequences-H1, H2, and H3. These features are analogous to the integral membrane glycoprotein NSP4 encoded by group A rotavirus gene 10.