Molecular analysis of the gene 6 from a porcine group C rotavirus that encodes the NS34 equivalent of group A rotaviruses

The complete nucleotide sequence of the gene 6 from the porcine group (Gp) C rotavirus strain Cowden was determined from gene 6-specific clones selected from a cDNA library and from viral transcript RNA. The gene is 1348 nucleotides in length with a potential initiation codon beginning at nucleotide 25 and a stop codon at nucleotide 1231. The deduced protein contains 402 amino acids. Comparison of the gene 6 from this Gp C strain with sequences in the GenBank data base indicated that this gene shared homology with gene 7 of Gp A rotavirus strain SA-11 (22.9%) and gene 9 of Gp A rotavirus strain UK (22.6%), both of which encode the NS34 protein. In vitro translation products produced from transcripts generated from a gene 6 clone containing the entire open reading frame were not immunoprecipitated with either hyperimmune serum specific for the Gp C Cowden strain or a monoclonal antibody directed against the group antigen (VP6) of the Cowden strain. However, products generated from a full-length gene 5 clone of the Cowden strain were immunoprecipitated by each of these antibodies. These data suggest that in contrast to the Gp A viruses in which the gene 6 encodes the major inner capsid protein VP6, the gene 6 of the Cowden Gp C strain encodes a nonstructural protein corresponding to the NS34 of Gp A rotaviruses.