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The infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV), an orthomyxovirus, is the major cause of outbreaks of high mortality rates in salmon in Chile. It has been proposed that the virulence of ISAV isolates lies mainly in hemagglutinin-esterase and fusion glycoproteins. However, based on current information, the contribution of other viral genes cannot be ruled out. To study this, we isolated and determined the complete coding sequence of two high-prevalence Chilean isolates associated with outbreaks of high mortality rates: ISAV752_09 and ISAV901_09. These isolates were compared to 15 Norwegian isolates that exhibit differences in their virulence. For this purpose, we performed bioinformatic analyses of (i) functional domains, (ii) specific mutations, (iii) Bayesian phylogenetics, and (iv) structural comparisons between ISAV and influenza virus glycoproteins by using molecular modeling. Phylogenetic analysis shows two genogroups for each protein, one of them containing the Chilean isolates. The gene sequence of the polymerase complex and nucleoprotein indicated that they are closely related to homologues from highly pathogenic Norwegian viruses. Notably, seven of the eight mutations that are present only in the Chilean isolates are on the polymerase complex and nucleoprotein. Structural modeling of hemagglutinin-esterase shows patches of variable residues on its surface. Fusion protein modeling shows that insertions are flexible regions that could affect proteolytic processing, increasing either the accessibility or the number of recognition sites for specific proteases. We found antigenic drift processes related to insertion into the isolated segment 5 of the ISAV752_09. Our results confirm the European origin of Chilean isolates to be the result of reassortments from Norwegian ancestors.

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Electropherotypes of human rotavirus from stool samples of hospitalized and ambulatory infants with acute diarrhea were analysed. Thirty-two different electropherotypes were observed in 142 cases in which the viral genome RNA was characterized. The seasonal distribution of the electropherotypes, from 1979 to 1981, showed that the same electropherotypes were detected throughout the period of study while others were found only occasionally. Electropherotypes were also analyzed depending on whether the patient from whom they had been obtained required hospitalization or was treated at home. The analysis shows that the electropherotypes were equally distributed in both groups of patients.

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The in vitro characteristics of human rotavirus transcription have been examined. The virus has an associated RNA polymerase activity which was activated after a heat shock treatment. The enzyme required the presence of the four ribonucleoside triphosphates and a divalent cation (Mg2"), and it required an optimum pH of 8.5. The polymerase was activated by monovalent salts and inhibited by Na PPi. The addition of actinomycin D, a-amanitin, or rifampin did not inhibit the polymerase activity. After thermal shock of the virus, at least eight different RNA species were synthesized which may correspond to independent transcripts. Transcription also requires a hydrolyzable form of ATP. Analogs such as ,B,y-imido ATP or f,By-methylene ATP were inhibitory, whereas others, such as the f,ty-imido or 'methylene analogs of CTP, UTP, or GTP, were not inhibitory. This suggests that ATP is related to reactions other than polymerization, probably to initiation or elongation of RNA molecules, as has been described for vesicular stomatitis virus or vaccinia virus.