Molecular characterization of the complete genome of a street rabies virus isolated in China

In this study, the complete genomic sequence of a rabies virus isolate HN10, recovered from brain tissue of a rabid patient in China, was determined. This is the first Chinese street isolate that has been fully characterized. The overall organization of this virus is typical of that observed for all other rabies viruses. Alignments of amino acid sequences of the phosphoprotein, glycoprotein and large protein of HN10 with those of other rabies viruses were used to examine the extent of conservation of known functional regions. Phylogenetic analysis using either the complete or partial genomic sequence of HN10 determined that this isolate is most closely associated with viruses previously shown to circulate in Guangxi and Hunan provinces. In addition, of all vaccine strains used for comparison, the attenuated Chinese vaccine strain CTN181 is most closely related to HN10.