Molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence of 3'-terminal region of classical swine fever virus LPC vaccine strain.

A cDNA of the 3'-terminus of classical swine fever virus (LPC vaccine strain) was cloned and sequenced. The 3431 nucleotides and deduced amino acid sequences were compared with those of other pestiviruses, and the similarity of nucleotide sequences and deduced amino acid sequences were found to be 84-95% and 95-98%, respectively. Similar to other isolates of classical swine fever virus, the sequenced region included the non-structural gene p58 (NS5A) and part of p76 (NS5B) gene. The p76 gene of LPC vaccine strain also contained a highly conserved motif G-D-D (Gly-Asp-Asp) that is present in the RNA replicase of positive-stranded RNA viruses. With the sequence data currently available, we carried out a phylogenetic analysis and obtained a genealogical relationship among members of the classical swine fever virus.