A comparison of genomic homologies among the coxsackievirus B group: use of fragments of the cloned coxsackievirus B3 genome as probes.

Using fragments of the cloned coxsackievirus B3 (CB3) genome as hybridization probes, regions in the CB3 genome with widely varying homology to heterologous CB serotype genomes have been demonstrated. A region composed of about 3.2 to 3.5 kbp of the CB3 genome in the 5' half of the map is essentially unique to CB3 and exhibits little or no homology with heterologous CB serotype RNAs. The non-coding terminal 5' end of the CB3 genome is well-conserved among the CB serotype RNAs tested. A sequence in the P3 region of the CB3 genome is also well conserved among heterologous CB serotypes.