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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Food Safety and Enteric Pathogens Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #74278

Title: COMMENTARY FOR GENETIC VARIABILITY OF CLASSICAL SWINE FEVER VIRUS

Author
item Ridpath, Julia

Submitted to: Virus Research
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/21/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The viruses of the pestivirus genus, which include classical swine fever virus (CSFV), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), and border disease virus (BDV) of sheep, are antigenically cross-reactive. While serology and monoclonal antibody binding are used to differentiate between pestivirus species these techniques are less useful in the differentiation and segregation of viruses within a pestivirus species. Phylogenetic analysis based on comparison of both coding and untranslated regions, has been used by many laboratories to segregate viruses into groups. In this paper the researchers have chosen to base their phylogenetic analysis of CSFV isolates on regions of the genome that have a high (E2 region) to moderate (polymerase region) frequency of variation. Their results show that CSFV isolates are more homogeneous as a group than BVDV or BDV isolates, compared in similar studies. Although phylogenic distances were short the authors were able to segregate CSFV into two major groups. This segregation is consistent with results achieved in other laboratories. The practical significance of any phylogenetic analysis depends on the correlation between genotypes and phenotypic characteristics common to all viruses within a genotype or in the potential for genotypic differences to be used as markers in epidemiological studies. The challenge now facing researchers is to determine if differences between the two groups affect the diagnosis and control of CSFV.