Comparison of the nucleotide sequences of diabetogenic and nondiabetogenic encephalomyocarditis virus

Abstract The nucleotide sequences of a diabetogenic variant of encephalomyocarditis (EMC) virus (D variant, ifp − phenotype) and a nondiabetogenic variant of EMC virus (B variant, ifp + phenotype) have been compared. These variants differ at eight sites. The poly(C) tract of EMC-B is three bases shorter than that of EMC-D. Of the seven sites at which nucleotide substitutions were confirmed using RNA templates, four resulted in amino acid changes in three different proteins, the leader peptide, t B (VP2), and 1D (VPI ). The biological significance of these differences can now be investigated.