Synthetic peptides mimic subtype specificity of foot-and-mouth disease virus

The major immunogen of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is located between amino acids 141–160 of the capsid protein VP1. Synthetic peptides corresponding to the major immunogenic region give good neutralising antibody responses and protection in guinea pigs. To define more precisely the immunogenic site of the virus, we have examined serological differences between subtypes of the A serotype using synthetic peptides covering the 141–160 region. We show that these synthetic peptides carry determinants which mimic the subtype specificity of the virus. The correlation between these results and predictive structural models, based on the amino acid sequence, is discussed.