COMPARISON OF NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCES AMONG HANTAVIRUSES BELONGING TO THE SAME SEROTYPE - AN ANALYSIS OF AMPLIFIED DNA BY THERMAL CYCLE SEQUENCING

The hantavirus genus, belonging to the bunyaviridae family, is compris ed of at least four serologically distinct types: Hantaan, Seoul, Puum ala and Prospect Hill. Previously, we reported the use of the polymera se chain reaction (PCR) for grouping hantavirus isolates by using four sets of primers specific to each serotype. Our PCR typing results agr eed with those of serological typing. The present study makes use of t hermal cycle sequencing to sequence PCR-amplified DNA products in orde r to determine the level of similarity among members of the same serot ype. We show that members of Hantaan and Seoul serotypes are over 92% homologous, irrespective of their host and geographical origin. Puumal a sequences show a degree of homology ranging from 80 to 98%. Despite the variation in sequence at the nucleotide level, amino acids show an even higher level of conservation.