Genome of coxsackievirus B3.

The entire nucleotide sequence of the coxsackievirus B3 strain Nancy (CB3) genome has been determined from cDNA. The genome is 7396 nucleotides long, and encodes a 2185 amino acid long polyprotein. It exhibits the same gene organization as other enterovirus genomes. A detailed comparison was carried out between the proteins encoded by the CB3 and poliovirus type 1 strain Mahoney (PV1) genomes. The genes encoding the VPg polypeptide and the viral polymerase are the most conserved regions. The structural polypeptides VP1, VP2, and VP3 are less well conserved although proline and tryptophan residues frequently are found in identical positions. The VP1 protein of CB3 shows a particularly limited homology in those regions which have been found to induce neutralizing antibodies against PV1. The 5' noncoding region of CB3 is closely related to that of PV1, with regard to both length and sequence organization, whereas the 3' noncoding region of CB3 exhibits some unique features.