Characterization of the genome sequence of an oncolytic Newcastle disease virus strain Italien

We determined the complete genome sequence of strain Italien, a virulent and oncolytic strain of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) by direct nucleotide sequencing of RT-PCR products, a size of 15,186 nucleotides (nt). Comparison of six coding genes and non-coding regions of Italien with those of the other 25 sequenced strains revealed NDV Herts/33 was the most similar strain with Italien. The gene encoding the RNA dependent RNA polymerase was the most highly conserved, while the gene encoding phosphoprotein was the most highly variable. The HN and F proteins of Italien have been modeled on the crystal structure in order to study the structural characteristics. Interaction between the HN protein and the heptad repeat B (HRB) region of F protein was analyzed in silico by molecular docking predicted five critical residues I133, V142, D143, R480, and K567 on HN protein. Identification of amino acid residues that could be crucial for this interaction provides working hypotheses for subsequent studies.