SPECIES-SPECIFICITY AND INTERSPECIES RELATEDNESS IN VP4 GENOTYPES DEMONSTRATED BY VP4 SEQUENCE-ANALYSIS OF EQUINE, FELINE, AND CANINE ROTAVIRUS STRAINS

We determined the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the V P4 genes of five equine, two feline, and two canine rotavirus strains. A high degree of homology (>97.0%) was found among the VP4 amino acid sequences of the equine strains H2, FI-14, and FI23. Equine strain L3 38 has a distinct VP4 amino acid sequence from those of the other equi ne strains (78.1% or less homology), and the L338 VP4 exhibited more t han 17.0% divergence at the amino acid level from those of rotavirus s trains published so far. The VP4 amino acid sequence of equine strain H1, which showed low homology with those of other equine strains, shar es >95.4% homology to those of porcine strains OSU and YM. VP4 amino a cid sequences of feline strain Cat97 and canine strains CU-1 and K9 sh owed a high degree of homology (96.8 to 97.2%) to one another, and wer e found to be quite similar (96.0-97.0% homology) to that of a human H CR3 strain recently characterized. Feline strain Cat2, whose VP4 seque nce is distinct from that of strain Cat97, has a VP4 similar to those of human strains K8 and AU-1 (97.8 and 97.5% homologies at amino acid level, respectively). Thus, the VP4 sequences of rotaviruses showed sp ecies specificity and interspecies relatedness. (C) 1994 Academic Pres s, Inc.