Evolution of infectious bronchitis virus in Taiwan: positively selected sites in the nucleocapsid protein and their effects on RNA-binding activity.

ABSTRACT: RNA recombination has been shown to underlie the sporadic emergence of new variants of coronavirus, including the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), a highly contagious avian pathogen. We have demonstrated that RNA recombination can give rise to a new viral population, supported by the finding that most isolated Taiwanese (TW) IBVs, similar to Chinese (CH) IBVs, exhibit a genetic rearrangement with the American (US) IBV at the 5' end of the nucleocapsid (N) gene. Here, we further show that positive selection has occurred at two sites within the putative crossover region of the N-terminal domain (NTD) of the TW IBV N protein. Based on the crystal structure of the NTD, the stereographic positions of both predicted selected sites do not fall close to the RNA-binding groove. Surprisingly, conv

SUBMITTER: Kuo SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7117379 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature