RNA of rotavirus: comparison of RNAs of human and animal rotaviruses.

Single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) was transcribed in vitro from inner-shell particles of human rotavirus strain Wa (HRV-Wa) and a bovine rotavirus (neonatal calf diarrhea virus [NCDV]) by virion-associated RNA polymerase activity. The ssRNA product consisted of 11 RNA segments which were separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In vitro-transcribed 32P-labeled ssRNA was used to study the genetic relatedness between rotaviruses by annealing with genomic double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) of homologous or heterologous rotavirus. All segments of HRV-Wa ssRNA were hybridized with dsRNA of HRV TK80, collected from the feces of a gastroenteritis patient, at the level of 88 to 100% of the homologous reaction. On the other hand, no segments of ssRNA from HRV-Wa hybridized with dsRNA of NCDV or simian rotavirus (simian agent 11). Similarly, ssRNA from NCDV did not hybridize with dsRNA of HRV-Wa, but hybridized with dsRNA of simian agent 11 at the level of 30% of the homologous value.     

Gel electrophoresis of rotavirus RNA derived from six different animal species.

Rotavirus RNA prepared from calf, pig, mouse, deer, foal and dog-adapted human isolates was compared using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Reproducible differences in the RNA migration patterns were found between all isolates. There were 11 clearly resolved segments in the pig, mouse and foal samples. The calf rotavirus RNA and deer rotavirus RNA separated into 9 bands and 10 bands, respectively. The dog-adapted human virus migrated in 12 bands, and this probably results from the complex passage history of the original human rotavirus isolate.     

用反转录—聚合酶链反应检测B组轮状病毒

轮状病毒（Ｒｏｔａｖｉｒｕｓ）是属于呼肠病毒科（Ｒｅｏｖｉｒｉｄａｅ）的双链ＲＮＡ（ｄｓＲＮＡ）病毒。至今已将轮状病毒分为七个组（Ａ～Ｇ）。已经发现的Ｂ组轮状病毒分别来自人、大鼠、牛、猪、羊。近十年来,通过轮状病毒的研究,轮状病毒Ｂ组已被公认为引起人...     

Gene Mapping of Rotavirus Double-Stranded RNA Segments by Northern Blot Hybridization: Application to Segments 7, 8, and 9

Cloned DNA copies of double-stranded RNA segments 7, 8, and 9 of UK bovine rotavirus were nick-translated with [alpha-(32)P]ATP and hybridized to double-stranded RNA of various rotavirus strains which had been separated on long polyacrylamide gels and then transferred to o-aminophenylthioether paper. Specific hybridization of the UK calf clones to the separated RNA segments allowed the corresponding genes of four different rotaviruses to be rapidly determined.     

RNA polymerase associated with human rotaviruses in diarrhea stools.

RNA polymerase activity was detected in six stools which were partially purified by high-speed centrifugation from infants with rotavirus gastroenteritis, but was not detected in five stools which were negative for rotavirus by counterimmunoelectrophoresis and radioimmunoassay. The polymerase activity was associated with the 1.38-g/ml rotavirus band after purification in a CsCl gradient.     

De novo synthesis of minus strand RNA by the rotavirus RNA polymerase in a cell-free system involves a novel mechanism of initiation

The replicase activity of rotavirus open cores has been used to study the synthesis of (-) strand RNA from viral (+) strand RNA in a cell-free replication system. The last 7 nt of the (+) strand RNA, 5'-UGUGACC-3', are highly conserved and are necessary for efficient (-) strand synthesis in vitro. Characterization of the cell-free replication system revealed that the addition of NaCl inhibited (-) strand synthesis. By preincubating open cores with (+) strand RNA and ATP, CTP, and GTP prior to the addition of NaCl and UTP, the salt-sensitive step was overcome. Thus, (-) strand initiation, but not elongation, was a salt-sensitive process in the cell-free system. Further analysis of the requirements for initiation showed that preincubating open cores and the (+) strand RNA with GTP or UTP, but not with ATP or CTP, allowed (-) strand synthesis to occur in the presence of NaCl. Mutagenesis suggested that in the presence of GTP, (-) strand synthesis initiated at the 3'-terminal C residue of the (+) strand template, whereas in the absence of GTP, an aberrant initiation event occurred at the third residue upstream from the 3' end of the (+) strand RNA. During preincubation with GTP, formation of the dinucleotides pGpG and ppGpG was detected; however, no such products were made during preincubation with ATP, CTP, or UTP. Replication assays showed that pGpG, but not GpG, pApG, or ApG, served as a specific primer for (-) strand synthesis and that the synthesis of pGpG may occur by a template-independent process. From these data, we conclude that initiation of rotavirus (-) strand synthesis involves the formation of a ternary complex consisting of the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, viral (+) strand RNA, and possibly a 5'-phosphorylated dinucleotide, that is, pGpG or ppGpG.