[Detection of picobirnaviruses by electrophoresis of RNA in polyacrylamide gel].

Double-segment profiles typical of picobirnavirus (PBV) were detected (during 1994-2001) in nucleic acids extracted from feces of children (3 cases) and calf (1 case) with diarrhea by using the method of electrophoresis. The human genomic PBV segments migrated in the polyacrylamide gel (PAAG) as dsRNA segments sized 1.7 and 2.4 kbp for small and large segments, respectively; the similar calf sizes were 1.5 and 2.6 kbp. PBVs were detected in various places of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and at different time periods. It was for the first time that the PBV circulation was proven to be present in Russia's territory. However, their association with diarrhea was not reliably established, and the pathogenic PBV potential needs further investigations.