Comparative sequences of two type 1 dengue virus strains possessing different growth characteristics in vitro.

The complete genome sequences of two dengue-1 virus strains having different growth characteristics (Mochizuki and A88) were compared with other published strains. The sequence analysis indicated several unique amino acid changes throughout the coding region of Mochizuki strain, mostly in envelope (E) protein. A unique amino acid, Ile-69 for Mochizuki strain at E protein resulted in the loss of an Asn-67-linked glycosylation site. A Thr substitution for Ala-114 at C protein and amino acid changes found in E, non-structural NS3, NS4a, and NS5 proteins were unique for A88 strain. These substitutions might be correlated to their different growth characteristics in vitro.