complete nucleotide sequence of the Popp (1967) strain of Marburg virus: a comparison with the Musoke (1980) strain

• Published in: Archives of virology Vol. 140; no. 9; pp. 1589 - 1600
• Main Authors: Bukreyev, A.A, Volchkov, V.E, Blinov, V.M, Dryga, S.A, Netesov, S.V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Austria 01.01.1995
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Base Sequence; Cloning, Molecular; DNA, Complementary - genetics; genbank/x64405; genbank/x64406; genbank/x68493; genbank/x68494; genbank/x68495; genbank/z29337; Genes, Viral; guinea pigs; Marburg virus; Marburgvirus - genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; nucleotide sequences; RNA, Viral - genetics; strain differences; viral proteins; Viral Proteins - genetics; Viral Structural Proteins - genetics
• ISSN: 0304-8608; 1432-8798
• DOI: 10.1007/BF01322532

The nucleotide sequence of genomic RNA of Marburg virus strain Popp was determined. Strain Popp was isolated in 1967 during the first filoviral outbreak. The virus was purified from blood of infected guinea pigs in which it had been maintained. The length of the determined sequence was 19112 nucleotides. Amino acid sequences of seven known virion proteins were deduced. Nucleotide and amino acid sequences were compared with those of strain Musoke of Marburg virus isolated in 1980 in Kenya and purified from Vero cells. Homology between nucleotide sequences of two strains was 93.9%. Comparisons revealed conserved and variable regions of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences. The GP, the envelope protein of the virion, was found to be the most variable protein. The greatest differences in the protein were located in the supposedly external part of the molecule. Amino acid substitutions in the L protein, the main component of viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, were also distributed extremely non-randomly. It was shown that the non-coding regions of the genome were more variable than the coding ones; 37.6% of nucleotide differences corresponded to the former. 72.6% of nucleotide substitutions located in the coding regions were found to be at the third codon position.