Summary
The nucleoprotein-encoding gene (N) of murine hepatitis virus type 3 (MHV 3), from the Mill Hill strain, was cloned and sequenced. It was compared to gene N from other murine coronaviruses and was found to share more similarities with N sequences from MHV 1 and MHV JHM strains than with the published MHV 3 N sequence which is almost identical to MHV A59. We suggest that the evolution of some MHV N sequences resulted from a double recombination phenomenon between two ancestors. Furthermore, comparison of protein N from avian and mammalian coronaviruses leads to the hypothesis that horizontal transfer events of the virus from one host species to another have occurred.
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Décimo, D., Philippe, H., Hadchouel, M. et al. The gene encoding the nucleocapsid protein: sequence analysis in murine hepatitis virus type 3 and evolution inCoronaviridae . Archives of Virology 130, 279–288 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01309660
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01309660