Comparison of the non-structural protein, NS1, of tick-borne and insect-borne orbiviruses.

The nucleotide sequence of RNA segment 6 of Broadhaven virus (BRDV), a tick-borne orbivirus, was determined principally from two overlapping cDNA clones and RNA end sequence analysis. The genome segment is 1714 base pairs in length and has a coding capacity for a protein of 537 amino acids, having a net charge of +4.0 at neutral pH. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequence of BRDV RNA segment 6 with the NS1 sequence of insect-borne orbiviruses, bluetongue virus (BTV), African horse sickness virus (AHSV) and epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) of deer, revealed amino acid identities of 21, 22 and 21%, respectively. This compares with amino acid identities of 31 to 50% between the NS1 proteins of these gnat-transmitted orbiviruses. A recombinant baculovirus was produced containing a full-length clone of BRDV segment 6, which expressed a protein of 61 kD in infected Spodoptera frugiperda cells. Like other orbivirus NS1 proteins the expressed protein formed tubules similar to those produced in BRDV-infected BHK21 cells.