The Lassa fever virus L gene: nucleotide sequence, comparison, and precipitation of a predicted 250 kDa protein with monospecific antiserum. Free

Abstract

The large (L) RNA segment of Lassa fever virus (LAS) encodes a putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp or L protein). Similar to other arenaviruses, the LAS L protein is encoded on the genome-complementary strand and is predicted to be 2218 amino acids in length (253 kDa). It has an unusually large non-coding region adjacent to its translation start site. The LAS L protein contains six motifs of conserved amino acids that have been found among arenavirus L proteins and core RdRp of other segmented negative-stranded (SNS) viruses (Arena-, Bunya- and Orthomyxoviridae). Phylogenetic analyses of the RdRp of 20 SNS viruses reveals that arenavirus L proteins represent a distinct cluster divided into LAS-lymphocytic choriomeningitis and Tacaribe-Pichinde virus lineages. Monospecific serum against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the most conserved central domain precipitates a 250 kDa product from LAS and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-infected cells.

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/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/0022-1317-78-3-547
1997-03-01
2024-03-29
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http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/0022-1317-78-3-547
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