Nucleotide sequence of gene segment 1 of a porcine rotavirus strain.

The nucleotide sequence of gene segment 1, which encodes VP1 of porcine rotavirus strain Gottfried, was determined. VP1 is associated with single-shelled rotavirus particles and has been linked to virus transcriptase and replicase enzymatic activities. Gene segment 1 is 3302 nucleotides long with a single open reading frame capable of coding for a protein of 1088 amino acids (calculated mol wt 125 kDa). The predicted amino acid sequence revealed that VP1 is basic, with a net positive charge of 18 at pH 7.0. It shares five consensus sequences with several well-characterized RNA-dependent RNA polymerases. Gottfried VP1 also shares consensus sequences with certain GTP-binding proteins; however, we could not detect any GTP-binding activity in VP1. Our preliminary experiments suggest that VP3, another polypeptide located in single-shelled rotavirus particles, possesses GTP-binding activity. These results suggest that mRNA synthesis and capping enzyme activities are related to VP1 and VP3, respectively.