Molecular characterization of the glycoproteins from two warm water rhabdoviruses: snakehead rhabdovirus (SHRV) and rhabdovirus of penaeid shrimp (RPS)/spring viremia of carp virus (SVCV)

We have determined the complete coding sequences for the glycoprotein (G) g enes from two rhabdoviruses that infect warm water aquatic animals, the sna kehead rhabdovirus (SHRV) and rhabdovirus of penaeid shrimp (RPS). Surprisi ngly, the G nucleotide sequence from RPS, a virus which has been isolated f rom diseased shrimp in Hawaii on numerous occasions, was over 99% identical to the G nucleotide sequence from spring viremia of carp virus (SVCV), a f ish virus from Europe and Asia. This is the first report of SVCV isolation outside of Europe and Asia, and it is also the first report of SVCV infecti ng a non-vertebrate species. The G gene from SHRV was most closely related to the G genes from the three Novirhabdoviruses, viral hemorrhagic septicem ia virus (VHSV), infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), and hirame rhabdovirus (HIRRV), with 47, 37, and 36% amino acid identity, respectivel y. In addition, a phylogenetic analysis using the amino acid sequence from rhabdovirus G genes indicated that SHRV should be classified within the Nov irhabdovirus genus. Finally, the SHRV-G gene was successfully expressed in mammalian cells under the control of the cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter, es tablishing that it can potentially be used in the production of pseudotyped retroviruses designed to infect fish. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Scien ce B.V. All rights reserved.