Nucleotide Sequence Analysis of the Small (S) RNA Segment of Bunyamwera Virus, the Prototype of the Family Bunyaviridae

The nucleotide sequence of the small (S) RNA segment of the Bunyamwera virus genome has been determined. The S RNA is 961 bases in length and, in common with other bunyaviruses, encodes two proteins, N and NSs, in overlapping reading frames. A six-way alignment of the amino acid sequences of the N and NSs proteins of viruses representing three serogroups within the Bunyavirus genus indicates regions which are strongly conserved, and provides targets for future analysis of protein function.