Abstract:
Genetic information regarding the leader (L) and complete capsid-coding (P1) region of FMD
serotype A and O viruses prevalent on the African conti-
nent is lacking.Here,we present the complete L-P1
sequences for eight serotype A and nine serotype O viruses
recovered from FMDV outbreaks in East and West Africa
over the last 33 years.Phylogenetic analysis of the P1 and
capsid-coding regions revealed that the African isolates
grouped according to serotype, and certain clusters were
indicative of transboundary as well as intra-regional spread
of the virus.However,similar analysis of the L region
revealed random groupings of isolates from serotypes O
and A.Comparisons between the phylogenetic trees
derived from the structura lcoding regions and the L region
pointed to a possibility of genetic recombination.The in-
tertypic nucleotide and amino acid variation of all the
isolates in this stud ysupported results from previous
studies where the externally located 1D was the most
variable whilst the internally located 1A was the most
conserved,which likely reflects the selective pressures on
these proteins.Amino acids identified previously as
important for FMDV structure and functioning were found
to be highly conserved.The information gained from this
study will contribute to the construction of structurally
designed FMDV vaccines in Africa.
