Nucleotide sequence of nucleocapsid protein (N) of Hantaan virus isolated from a Korean hemorrhagic fever patient.

ABSTRACT

The nucleotide sequence of the nucleocapsid protein (N) coding region of a Hantaan virus strain (CFC94-2) isolated from a Korean Hemorrhagic Fever (KHF) patient was determined by sequencing a series of deletion mutants. Comparison of the N coding sequence of CFC94-2 to the sequence of the prototype of Hantaan virus, strain 76-118 reveals a 4.97% difference in the nucleotide sequence and a 1.6% difference in the deduced amino acid sequence. The rate of amino acid sequence variation in N protein of different Hantaan viruses (1.6%) is quite similar to that in G1 and G2 envelope proteins (1.7%). These results suggest that N protein may be under a similar selection pressure to G1 and G2 envelope proteins against host immune system.