Multigenic Relation to the Attenuation of Rabies Virus

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Rabies virus Nishigahara strain causes lethal infection in adult mice after intracerebral inoculation. On the other hand, the RC‐HL strain, derived from the Nishigahara strain, does not cause lethal infection in adult mice. We previously demonstrated that a chimeric virus, R(G), with the open reading frame of the G gene (G‐ORF) from the Nishigahara strain in the background of the RC‐HL genome, is virulent. Reversely, in order to demonstrate that the G gene of the RC‐HL strain is related to the attenuated phenotype, we established a reverse genetics system of the Nishigahara strain and generated a chimeric virus, Ni(G), with the G‐ORF from RC‐HL in the background of the Nishigahara genome. Contrary to our prediction, Ni(G) killed adult mice after intracerebral inoculation with neuropathic symptoms like those of Nishigahara strain infection. Therefore, the G‐ORF of the RC‐HL strain is not the sole determinant of the attenuated phenotype. In additional investigation, we examined other genes, including N, P, M and L genes, and generated chimeric viruses exhaustively. We found that chimeric viruses with a single gene from the RC‐HL were not attenuated and that chimeric viruses with the G‐ORF and at least one other ORF from the RC‐HL were attenuated. In conclusion, attenuation from the Nishigahara to RC‐HL strain is multigenic.

This publication has 29 references indexed in Scilit: