A COMPARISON OF THE VP7 GENE-SEQUENCES OF HUMAN AND BOVINE ROTAVIRUSES

The sequences of the gene encoding VP7 (the major outer capsid protein ) from one bovine and three human rotavirus strains were determined be cause of their unusual VP7 specificities. Two of the human strains (PA 169 and PA 151) had VP7 serotype 6 specificity whereas the two other strains, recovered from a child (HAL 1166) and a calf (678) belonged t o VP7 serotype 8. The serotype 8 strains exhibited a high degree of se quence conservation when compared with each other and with other serot ype 8 strains previously sequenced. The serotype 6 human strains share d a greater degree of sequence similarity with previously reported ser otype 6 bovine strains than with other rotavirus serotypes; however th e degree of sequence similarity among PA 169, PA 151 and the bovine st rains was lower than had been previously reported for strains belongin g to the same serotype. The demonstration of rotavirus serotypes that are shared between human and animal species supports the concept that interspecies transmission occurs and may play a role in rotavirus evol ution.