G. F. Gao, M. H. Hussain, H. W. Reid & E. A. Gould (1993).
Classification of a new member of the TBE flavivirus subgroup by its
immunological, pathogenetic and molecular characteristics: identification of
subgroup-specific pentapeptides. Virus Res 30: 129-44

Institute of Virology and Environmental Microbiology, Oxford, UK.

The antigenic, pathogenic and molecular characteristics of Turkish sheep
encephalitis (TSE) virus, strain TTE80, were compared with other members of the
tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus complex. Monoclonal antibodies with defined
specificity for the flavivirus envelope glycoprotein distinguished TSE virus
from louping ill (LI), western or far eastern TBE, Langat and Powassan virus in
indirect immunofluorescence, haemagglutination-inhibition and neutralization
tests. On the other hand, TSE virus, which produces an LI-like disease in
sheep, resembled LI virus in mouse neurovirulence tests. Molecular homology
data of all the structural genes of TSE virus compared with other tick-borne
flaviviruses demonstrated that TSE virus is a distinct member in the TBE virus
subgroup. The data are consistent with the conclusion that TSE virus has
evolved by a separate evolutionary pathway as compared with the close antigenic
relatives, western European, far eastern TBE viruses and LI virus. By aligning
the encoded amino acids in the viral envelope glycoprotein of mosquito- and
tick-borne flaviviruses, we have also identified subgroup-specific pentapeptide
motifs for t