Genetic analysis of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) from Scotland

The nucleotide sequences of segments 2 and 8 of infectious salmon anaemia v irus (ISAV) isolates from Scotland were determined. These were used to pred ict amino acid sequences of the products of these segments. The sequences w ere compared with those previously published for ISAV from Norway and North America. Nucleotide and amino acid variations were found in the Scottish i solate, indicating that it is not identical to those Norwegian or North Ame rican strains. Although phylogenetic analysis of the sequences was not poss ible, it was clear that the Scottish isolate is more closely related to the Norwegian strain than the North American. Sequencing further isolates that are geographically or temporally separated will be important in advancing understanding of the epidemiology of this important disease.