Whole Genome Sequence Analysis of a Prototype Strain of the Novel Putative Rotavirus Species L

Rotaviruses infect humans and animals and are a main cause of diarrhea. They are non-enveloped viruses with a genome of 11 double-stranded RNA segments. Based on genome analysis and amino acid sequence identities of the capsid protein VP6, the rotavirus species A to J (RVA-RVJ) have been defined so far. In addition, rotaviruses putatively assigned to the novel rotavirus species K (RVK) and L (RVL) have been recently identified in common shrews (Sorex araneus), based on partial genome sequences. Here, the complete genome sequence of strain KS14/0241, a prototype strain of RVL, is presented. The deduced amino acid sequence for VP6 of this strain shows only up to 47% identity to that of RVA to RVJ reference strains. Phylogenetic analyses indicate a clustering separated from the established rotavirus species for all 11 genome segments of RVL, with the closest relationship to RVH and RVJ within the phylogenetic RVB-like clade. The non-coding genome segment termini of RVL showed conserved sequences at the 5′-end (positive-sense RNA strand), which are common to all rotaviruses, and those conserved among the RVB-like clade at the 3′-end. The results are consistent with a classification of the virus into a novel rotavirus species L.     

Segment-specific inverted repeats found adjacent to conserved terminal sequences in wound tumor virus genome and defective interfering RNAs.

Defective interfering (DI) RNAs are often associated with transmission-defective isolates of wound tumor virus (WTV), a plant virus member of the Reoviridae. We report here the cloning and characterization of WTV genome segment S5 [2613 base pairs (bp)] and three related DI RNAs (587-776 bp). Each DI RNA was generated by a simple internal deletion event that resulted in no sequence rearrangement at the deletion boundaries. Remarkably, although several DI RNAs have been in continuous passage for more than 20 years, their nucleotide sequences are identical to that of corresponding portions of segment S5 present in infrequently passaged, standard, transmission-competent virus. The positions of the deletion breakpoints indicate that the minimal sequence information required for replication and packaging of segment S5 resides within 319 bp from the 5' end of the (+)-strand and 205 bp from the 3' end of the (+)-strand. The terminal portions of segment S5 were found to contain a 9-bp inverted repeat immediately adjacent to the conserved terminal 5'-hexanucleotide and 3'-tetranucleotide sequences shared by all 12 WTV genome segments. The presence of a 6- to 9-nucleotide segment-specific inverted repeat immediately adjacent to the conserved terminal sequences was found to be a feature common to all WTV genome segments. These results reveal several basic principles that govern the replication and packaging of a segmented double-stranded RNA genome.     

Inverted repeated DNA from Chinese hamster ovary cells studied with cloned DNA fragments.

Fragments from the DNA of Chinese hamster ovary cells produced by restriction endonuclease EcoRI were cloned in Charon 16A lambda bacteriophage and examined for the ability to hybridize in situ with 32P-labeled double-stranded regions from heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA). Of 235 clones tested, 87 (37%) contained sequences that hybridized with the double-stranded hnRNA. Nine of these were examined for the presence of inverted repeat DNA structures (ir-DNA) by electron microscopy. All nine contained at least two elements of ir-DNA. Analysis of heteroduplexes formed from the DNAs of the different clones as well as T1 fingerprint analysis of the double-stranded hnRNA hybridized to each of the nine clones suggest that there is detectable nucleotide sequence homology in the various ir-DNAs. There are ca 3 X 10(5) ir-DNA pairs in the haploid Chinese hamster ovary cell genome.     

Polyoma virus giant RNAs contain tandem repeats of the nucleotide sequence of the entire viral genome.

The bulk of late virus-specific RNA synthesized in polyoma virus-infected mouse cells is larger than a single strand of poloma DNA. The arrangement of viral nucleotide sequences in these giant polyoma RNAs was studied by electron microscopy of hybrids between purified high molecular weight viral RNA and the HindII-1 fragment of polyoma DNA, which contains 91% of the viral genome. Hybrid molecules containing a short single-stranded gap (corresponding to the 9% of viral sequences not present in HindII-1), flanked by double-stranded regions, were photographed and measured. The majority of hybrid molecules contained no single-stranded loops or branches, showing that all viral sequences are transcribed contiguously and that no nonviral sequences are present in the RNA. Hybrid molecules, containing RNA up to 3.5 times the genome length, had a repeating structure of single-stranded gaps 8% of genome length interspersed with double-stranded regions 89% of genome length, showing that giant polyoma RNAs contain tandem repeats of the nucleotide sequence of the entire viral DNA. A small proportion of hybrid molecules contained single-stranded branches or deletion loops in characteristic positions, indicating that RNA "splicing" may occur on high molecular weight nuclear polyoma RNA.     

Serotype-specific glycoprotein of simian 11 rotavirus: coding assignment and gene sequence.

Cloned DNA copies of the double-stranded RNA genomic segments of simian 11 rotavirus have been used to determine the coding assignment for VP7, the type-specific antigen of this virus. Translation of hybrid-selected mRNAs in an in vitro system supplemented with canine pancreatic microsomes permitted VP7 to be assigned to segment 9 and the two nonstructural viral proteins NCVP4 and NCVP3, to segments 7 and 8, respectively. Hybridization of cloned DNA probes for segments 7-9 with the corresponding segments of human rotavirus Wa confirmed these assignments. The complete nucleotide sequence of gene 9 has been determined. The deduced amino acid sequence reveals VP7 to be 326 amino acids in length with two NH2-terminal hydrophobic regions and a single glycosylation site at residues 69-71.     

Intracellular amplification and expression of a synthetic analog of rotavirus genomic RNA bearing a foreign marker gene: mapping cis-acting nucleotides in the 3''-noncoding region.

cDNAs were constructed to encode plus- or minus-sense analogs of gene 9 RNA of porcine rotavirus strain OSU in which the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene was flanked by the 5'-terminal 44 nucleotides (nt) and 3'-terminal 35 nt of the authentic rotavirus gene. Transfection of plus-sense gene-9-CAT RNA into rotavirus-infected cells resulted in its amplification and in the efficient expression of CAT; this was greatly enhanced by the presence of a 5' cap structure. Amplification was ablated by omitting the rotavirus superinfection or by removing the 3'-terminal 35-nt rotavirus sequence from the RNA. This result indicated that amplification depended both on rotavirus proteins supplied in trans and on cis-acting rotavirus sequences. Minus-sense or double-stranded gene-9-CAT RNA was essentially inactive, indicating that synthetic RNAs can be introduced into the rotavirus replicative cycle in vivo only when provided in the plus sense. However, incorporation of the CAT-bearing RNA into infectious rotavirus was not detected. Two heterologous rotaviruses, the simian RRV and chicken Ch2 strains, efficiently complemented the OSU-based gene-9-CAT RNA, even though the Ch2 strain was only 50%-66% related in the noncoding regions. Mutational analysis of the 35-nt 3'-noncoding region showed that the 3'-terminal 12 or 17 nt were sufficient for reduced (12% or 23%, respectively) levels of amplification, whereas inclusion of the 3'-terminal 19 nt fully restored amplification. Thus, the 3'-terminal cis-acting signals required for amplification include the 7-nt-terminal consensus sequence together with 12 nt of adjoining, less-well-conserved sequence.     

Sequence relationships among defective interfering influenza viral RNAs.

Each clone of ts-52 and ts+ WSN influenza virus, when serially passaged at high multiplicity, gives rise to defective interfering (DI) virus with a unique set of new RNA species. The new RNAs (DI RNA) from several DI viruses were examined by the technique of RNase T1 oligonucleotide two-dimensional electrophoresis. It was found that each DI RNA arises from a specific segment of standard viral RNA. All DI RNA studied arose from the viral polymerase genes (P1, P2, and P3). DI RNAs originating from the same polymerase gene were interrelated. Certain of these DI RNAs appeared to contain completely overlapping nucleotide sequences. Others contained both overlapping and nonoverlapping nucleotide sequences. The latter DI RNAs may be formed from the progenitor viral RNA segment by a mechanism other than a common initiation (or termination) point and a simple deletion from one end.     

18S defective interfering RNA of Semliki Forest virus contains a triplicated linear repeat.

The nucleotide sequence of a nearly full-length cloned cDNA copy of an 18S defective interfering (DI) RNA of Semliki Forest virus has been determined. This corresponded to a major virus-specific cytoplasmic RNA species at the 11th undiluted passage of the virus in BHK cells. The 1652-nucleotide-long sequence consists of a unique 5'-terminal sequence followed by three tandem 484-nucleotide repeat units derived from the 5' two-thirds of the viral genome and a unique sequence of 106 nucleotides preceding the poly(A) of the 3' terminus. One of the tandem 484-nucleotide repeat units contains an extra segment of 60 nucleotides. Hybridization experiments showed that the cloned cDNA was colinear with an 18S DI RNA and that it contained an approximately 320-nucleotide-long segment colinear with the viral genomic RNA. Analysis of 18S DI RNA oligonucleotide fingerprints revealed that the molecule studied and the heterogeneous DI RNA population contain similar repeated sequences. The mechanism by which the DI RNAs are generated is not known, but it seems likely that multiple internal deletions and duplications are involved.     

Hepatitis C virus RNA codes for proteins and replicates: does it also trigger the interferon response?

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a positive sense virus with a genomic RNA molecule roughly 9,600 nucleotides in length. The single-stranded genomic RNA has a nontranslated region (NTR) at each end and a long open reading frame (coding region) in between. The 5'NTR and portions of the 3'NTR are the most conserved parts of HCV RNA. These conserved regions contain signals for replication and translation. Much of the 5'NTR is folded into a structure that binds ribosomes. This structure, an internal ribosome entry site, promotes the initiation of protein synthesis and is critical for HCV gene expression. The ribosome binding site may extend into the coding region; its exact boundaries are not known. The open reading frame encodes the HCV polyprotein, which is slightly more than 3,000 amino acids in length. The 3'NTR plays a key role in HCV replication and may also influence the rate of HCV protein synthesis. During replication, the genomic RNA is copied by virally encoded enzymes into a complementary antigenomic RNA, which itself is a template for the synthesis of progeny RNAs. At steady state, genomic strands outnumber antigenomic strands about 10 to 1. HCV RNA replication is thought to take place in the cytoplasm and is an error-prone process. It generates a mixed population of RNA sequences (quasispecies), including mutants that may be more fit than the parental type, less fit, or equally fit (but distinct). Natural selection acts upon the progeny RNAs, causing the population to change and drift. Over time, mutation, selection, and population bottlenecks led to the evolution of varied genotypes. The HCV replication complex is a potential source of double-stranded RNA, a powerful inducer of interferon. Thus, HCV-specific double-stranded RNA may trigger the first steps of innate immunity; however, for unknown reasons, the immune system often fails to clear the infection. The plasticity of the HCV genome and the low level of HCV gene expression may counterbalance any immunostimulatory effects of HCV RNA and allow the virus to escape specific immune responses. Antisense drugs and ribozymes directed against HCV RNA are under investigation. Future interventions may include nucleic acid drugs (antisense and ribozymes) and smaller pharmaceuticals that bind to intricate structures in HCV RNA and HCV-specific double-stranded RNA. Infectious clones of HCV RNA are available. These clones and other systems for expressing HCV proteins pave the way for vaccine development.     

Reverse genetics system for introduction of site-specific mutations into the double-stranded RNA genome of infectious rotavirus

We describe here the successful establishment of a reverse genetics system for rotavirus (RV), a member of the Reoviridae family whose genome consists of 10-12 segmented dsRNA. The system is based on the recombinant vaccinia virus T7 RNA polymerase-driven procedure for supplying artificial viral mRNA in the cytoplasm. With the aid of helper virus (human RV strain KU) infection, intracellularly transcribed full-length VP4 mRNA of simian RV strain SA11 resulted in the rescue of the KU-based transfectant virus carrying the SA11 VP4 RNA segment derived from cDNA. In addition to the rescued transfectant virus with the authentic SA11 VP4 gene, three more infectious RV transfectants, into which silent mutation(s) were introduced to destroy both or one of the two restriction enzyme sites as gene markers in the SA11 VP4 genome, were also rescued with this method. The ability to artificially manipulate the RV genome will greatly increase the understanding of the replication and the pathogenicity of RV and will provide a tool for the design of attenuated vaccine vectors.     

Rescue of a segmented negative-strand RNA virus entirely from cloned complementary DNAs

We provide the first report, to our knowledge, of a helper-independent system for rescuing a segmented, negative-strand RNA genome virus entirely from cloned cDNAs. Plasmids were constructed containing full-length cDNA copies of the three Bunyamwera bunyavirus RNA genome segments flanked by bacteriophage T7 promoter and hepatitis delta virus ribozyme sequences. When cells expressing both bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase and recombinant Bunyamwera bunyavirus proteins were transfected with these plasmids, full-length antigenome RNAs were transcribed intracellularly, and these in turn were replicated and packaged into infectious bunyavirus particles. The resulting progeny virus contained specific genetic tags characteristic of the parental cDNA clones. Reassortant viruses containing two genome segments of Bunyamwera bunyavirus and one segment of Maguari bunyavirus were also produced following transfection of appropriate plasmids. This accomplishment will allow the full application of recombinant DNA technology to manipulate the bunyavirus genome.     

Intermediates in the biosynthesis of double-stranded ribonucleic acids of bacteriophage phi 6.

Pseudomonas phaseolicola infected with bacteriophage phi 6 synthesized all three viral double-stranded RNA segments, three single-stranded RNAs, and three replicative intermediate-like RNAs in the presence of rifampin. The single-stranded RNA intermediates sedimented and electrophoresed along with melted viral double-stranded RNA, annealed with melted viral double-stranded RNA, and were transient in nature. The relative amounts of the single-stranded RNA intermediates varied during the infection cycle and were altered in the presence of chloramphenicol. The replicative intermediate-like RNAs sedimented faster than double-stranded RNA, failed to enter 2.5% polyacrylamide gels, eluted with double-stranded RNA from a CF-11 cellulose column, were precipitated with single-stranded RNA in 2 M LiC1, and yielded three genome-size pieces of double-stranded RNA upon digestion with RNase. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that complementary strands of the phi 6 double-stranded RNAs are synthesized asynchronously during the infection cycle.     

5'-Terminal m-7G(5')ppp(5')G-m-p in vivo: identification in reovirus genome RNA.

Methylated reovirus mRNA was synthesized in vitro in the presence of S-adenosyl-L-[methyl-3H]-methionine. Viral genome double-stranded RNA that was uniformly labeled with 32-P was isolated from purified virions. The RNAs were mixed and their 5'-terminal structures compared by electrophoretic and chromatographic analyses after enzymatic digestion. Both the mRNA and the corresponding strand in the genome RNA contain m-7G(5')ppp(5')G-m-pCp, indicating that infected cells synthesize viral RNA with blocked, methylated 5' termini.