Abstract
Two strains of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) differ in their ability to cause a lethal disease in outbred guinea pigs: the Armstrong (ARM) strain is not lethal at high doses (106 PFU), whereas the WE strain is lethal at less than 10 PFU inoculated intraperitoneally. The high pathogenic potential of LCMV WE has been mapped to the larger (L) of the two genomic RNA segments by genetic reassortment analysis (Riviere, Y., Ahmed, R., Southern, P.J., Buchmeier, M. J. and Oldstone, M. B. A., J. Virol. 55, 704–709, 1985). Here we describe the completed sequence of the LCMV WE L RNA, and its comparison to the L RNA of the non-virulent strain, LCMV ARM. Similar to the L RNA of LCMV ARM, the L RNA of WE is 7.2 kb long and contains two open reading frames (ORFs): the 5′ ORF encodes a small RING finger (zinc-binding) protein, p11 Z, and the 3′ ORF encodes the putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp or L protein). Comparison of nucleotide sequences for both viruses revealed 84% L RNA homology. At the amino acid level similarity between the two strains is 87% in the Z ORF, and 88% in the RdRp ORF. The most divergent regions are found in the N-terminal parts of the RdRp and Z proteins and are most likely to account for differences in pathogenic potential.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Salvato M.S. and Rai K.S., in Mahy B. and Collier L. (eds) “Toply and Wilson's Microbiology and Microbial Infections 9th edition”, Arnold Publishing, London, 1998, pp. 629-650.
Dutko F.J. and Oldstone M.B.A., J Gen Virol 64, 1689-1698, 1983.
Lehmann-Grube F., Virol Monogr 10, 78-81, 1971.
Buchmeier M.J., Welsh R.M., Dutko F.J., and Oldstone M.B.A., Adv Immunol 30, 275-331, 1980.
Riviere Y., Ahmed R., Southern P., Buchmeier M.J., and Oldstone M.B., J Virol 55, 704-709, 1985.
Martinez Peralta L.A., Laguens M., Ponzinibbio C., and Laguens R.P., Medicina 50, 225-229, 1990.
Gonzalez P.H., Ponzinibbio C., and Laguens R.P., J Med Virol 22, 289-297, 1987.
Peters C.J., Jahrling P.B., Liu C.T., Kenyon R.H., McKee K.T., Jr., and Barrera Oro J.G., Cur Top Microbiol Immunol 134, 5-68, 1987.
Qian C., Jahrling P.B., Peters C.J., and Liu C.T., Lab An Sci 44, 600-607, 1994.
Aronson J.F., Herzog N.K., and Jerrells T.R., Am J Pathol 145, 228-235, 1994.
Aronson J.F., Herzog N.K., and Jerrells T.R., Am J Trop Med Hyg 52, 262-269, 1995.
Salvato M., Shimomaye E., Southern P., and Oldstone M.B., Virol 164, 517-522, 1988.
Salvato M., Shimomaye E., and Oldstone M.B., Virol 169, 377-384, 1989.
Salvato M. and Shimomaye E., Virol 173, 1-10, 1989.
Romanowski V., Matsuura Y., and Bishop D.H., Virus Res 3, 101-114, 1985.
Lukashevich I.S., Djavani M., Shapiro K., Sanchez A., Ravkov E., Nichol S.T., and Salvato M.S., J Gen Virol 78, 547-551, 1997.
Djavani M., Lukashevich I.S., Sanchez A., and Salvato M.S., Virol 235, 414-418, 1997.
Romanowski V. and Bishop D.H., Virus Res 2, 35-51, 1985.
Singh M.K., Fuller-Pace F.V., Buchmeier M.J., and Southern P.J., Virol 161, 448-456, 1987.
Salvato M.S., in M.S. Salvato (ed). “The Arenaviridae.” Plenum Press, New York 1993, pp. 133-156.
Shimomaye E. and Salvato M., Gen Anal Tech 6, 25-28, 1989.
Lovering R., Hanson I.M., Borden K.L., Martin S., O'Reilly N.J., Evan G.I., Rahman D., Pappin D.J., Trowsdale J., and Freemont P.S., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 90, 2112-2116, 1993.
Borden K.L. and Freemont P.S., Cur Opin Structural Biol 6, 395-401, 1996.
Poch O., Blumberg B.M., Bougueleret L., and Tordo N., J Gen Virol 71, 1153-1162, 1990.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Djavani, M., Lukashevich, I.S. & Salvato, M.S. Sequence Comparison of the Large Genomic RNA Segments of Two Strains of Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Differing in Pathogenic Potential for Guinea Pigs. Virus Genes 17, 151–155 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008016724243
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008016724243