Localization and nucleotide sequence of the gene coding for the woodchuck hepatitis virus surface antigen: comparison with the gene coding for the human hepatitis B virus surface antigen.

Nucleotide sequence analysis was performed with the Maxam--Gilbert method on a cloned woodchuck hepatitis virus DNA (Eco WHV DNA). The structural gene coding for the envelope protein of the virus was localized on the viral genome in the partially single-stranded region between map positions 91.2 and 71. This gene is composed of 669 nucleotides and can code for a polypeptide of 25,645 daltons. The DNA sequence and the deduced amino acid sequence were compared with those of the corresponding gene and surface antigen of the related hepatitis B virus, allowing some insight into the localization of the antigenic site.