Comparison of amino acid sequences at the amino acid 130-160 region of VP1polypeptide of Indian field isolates of foot-and-mouth disease virus serotype Asia 1

The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences in the amino acid (aa) 130- 160 region of VPI polypeptide of 65 field isolates of foot-and mouth diseas e virus (FMDV) serotype Asia 1 were determined and the consensus sequences were deduced. Comparison of amino acid sequences revealed conservation of N GK (130-132), TYG (134-136), RGD (142-144), and LPTSF(156-160) motifs and a a 148 (L) while variation was observed at the rest of the region (variabili ty index (VI) of 2.06 to 16.85). Synonymous and non-synonymous mutations at the nucleotide level were well correlated with those of the corresponding amino acids. Comparison of the aa 130-160 sequence of Asia I serotype with those of other serotypes of FMDV revealed conservation of aa 135, 148-149, 157 and 160. Amino acids 133-138 and 148-154 were unique for Asia 1 serotyp e and are presumably responsible for its distinct antigenic nature. The pre sent study revealed that the FMDV isolates of serotype Asia 1 causing outbr eaks in India are very much heterogeneous in the aa 130-160 region of VP1.