Molecular identification of 13 new enterovirus types, EV79-88, EV97, and EV100-101, members of the species Human Enterovirus B

Molecular methods have enabled the rapid identification of new enterovirus (EV) serotypes that are untypeable using existing neutralizing antisera. As a result, sequencing of the VP1 capsid gene has been developed as a surrogate for antigenic typing to distinguish enterovirus types. In this study, 17 enterovirus isolates from four countries were identified as members of 13 new types within the species Human Enterovirus B (HEV-B) by complete genome sequencing. Members of each of these new types are at least 75% identical to one another (91% amino acid identity) in VP1, but members of different types differ from one another and from other enteroviruses by at least 27% in nucleotide sequence (26% amino acid sequence difference). The complete PI (capsid) sequences of the new types are at least 17% different from those of all other enterovirus serotypes (14.5% amino acid sequence difference), but they are highly conserved within a type (<8% amino acid sequence difference). For both VP1 and P I, the 17 isolates are monophyletic by type with respect to all other EV serotypes. The P2 and P3 sequences are closely related to those of other HEV-B viruses (>93% amino acid identity), confirming that the 17 new strains belong to HEV-B. We propose that these 17 isolates be classified as members of 13 new human enterovirus types, enteroviruses 79-88, 97, and 100-101. Published by Elsevier B.V.