The complete sequence of the group-specific antigen, VP7, of African horsesickness disease virus serotype 4 reveals a close relationship to bluetongue virus

The complete sequence of the S7 RNA that codes for the major group-specific coat protein. VP7, of African horsesickness virus serotype 4 (AHSV-4) was determined from cDNA analyses and found to be 1179 nucleotides in length. One single open reading frame of 353 codons was observed defining a protein of Mr 38,107 with a net charge of -1.5 at neutral pH. Comparison of the AHSV-4 VP7 sequence with that of bluetongue virus serotype 10 revealed an overall similarity of 44%, with the amino- and carboxy-terminal regions exhibiting the greatest levels of homology. In addition, potential secondary structures of the terminal sequences of the S7 RNA segments of AHSV-4 and BTV serotypes 10, 13 and 17 are presented.