[Genetic typing of tick-borne encephalitis virus based on an analysis of the levels of homology of a membrane protein gene fragment].

All heretofore known genomic structures of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus are analyzed. The authors prove the adequacy of using short fragment of E protein gene for characterization of philogenetic relationships between TBE strains. Three main genotypes of the virus are distinguished, one corresponding to Far Eastern variant, one to West, and the third includes strains belonging to Ural Siberian and Central Siberian and Transbaikal variants. Results of genetic typing by nucleotide sequences are confirmed by analysis of amino acid sequences of E protein fragments, specific marker amino acids in definite positions being determined for each genotype.