Molecular characterization of a rare G1P[19] rotavirus strain from India: evidence of reassortment between human and porcine rotavirus strains

This study pertains to the characterization of a human rotavirus strain (NIV929893) with a rare specificity of G1P[19]. Three structural genes (VP4, VP6 and VP7) and one non-structural gene (NSP4) of strain NIV929893 were subjected to RT-PCR for amplification of entire coding regions. All of the amplicons were sequenced to carry out phylogenetic analysis. The complete amino acid sequences of the VP7 and VP4 gene products showed clustering of the VP7 gene with G1 strains of human origin and the VP4 gene with P[19] strains of porcine origin. The two viral proteins VP6 and NSP4, described previously as genetically linked proteins, were shown to be subgroup II and genotype B of human and porcine origins, respectively. The findings of this study provide evidence of reassortment between VP7/VP6 genes of humans and VP4/NSP4 genes of porcine species and an independent segregation of VP6 and NSP4 genes in a group A human rotavirus strain with G1P[19] specificity.