Complete nucleotide sequence of IT-227/82, an avian paramyxovirus type-1 strain of pigeons (Columba livia).

This paper describes the complete genome sequence of IT-227/82, a strain of avian paramyxovirus type-1 of pigeon (PPMV-1). IT-227/82 is an antigenic variant of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) of chickens. The genome is 15,192 nucleotides (nt) long, similarly to the previously published NDV strain ZJ1. It is, however, six nt longer than the genomes of NDV strains LaSota/46 and Beaudette C. The six-nt insertion was located in the 5' non-coding region of the nucleoprotein (NP) gene. The presence of this six-nt insertion showed no correlation with the virulence or the reservoir of the NDV strains sequenced so far. The genome length of 15,186 or 15,192 nt can be connected however, to "old" (I, II, III and IV) and "new" (V, VI, VII and VIII) NDV genotypes, respectively. Comparison of open reading frames indicated that the PPMV-1 strain IT-227/82 encodes the longest W protein, (227 amino acids). The length of the W protein showed remarkable differences even within genotypes and cannot be regarded, therefore, as a phylogenetic feature. The haemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein of strain IT-227/82 consists of 571 amino acids, similarly to genotypes IV, V and VII NDV strains, while genotype I and II strains have longer HN proteins, 616 and 577 amino acids, respectively. The length of the haemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein possesses phylogenetic importance.