%0 Journal Article %A Clerx, John P. M. %A Casals, Jordi %A Bishop, David H. L. %T Structural Characteristics of Nairoviruses (Genus Nairovirus, Bunyaviridae) %D 1981 %J Journal of General Virology, %V 55 %N 1 %P 165-178 %@ 1465-2099 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317-55-1-165 %K Nairoviruses %K Bunyaviridae %K polypeptides %K RNA %I Microbiology Society, %X Summary Viruses from six antigenic groups of arthropod-borne viruses [Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), Nairobi sheep disease (NSD), Qalyub (QYB), Sakhalin (SAK), Dera Ghazi Khan (DGK) and Hughes (HUG) serogroups], some previously categorized as bunyavirus-like viruses and others previously ungrouped, have recently been assembled by serological analyses into a new genus of viruses (Nairovirus genus) in the Bunyaviridae. Molecular studies of the virion RNA and viral polypeptides have been undertaken with representative members of the different serogroups [Hazara (HAZ) and Congo (CON) viruses, CCHF group; Dugbe (DUG) virus, NSD group; QYB, Omo and Bandia (BDA) viruses, QYB group; Avalon (AVA) virus, SAK group; DGK and Abu Mina (AM) viruses, DGK group; and HUG virus, HUG group]. In agreement with a recent study of QYB virus and in part agreement with an earlier report on DUG virus, the results of these molecular analyses indicate that nairoviruses have: (i) three virion RNA species (large, L, medium, M, and small, S) with apparent mol. wt. of 4.1 × 106 to 4.9 × 106, 1.5 × 106 to 1.9 × 106 and 0.6 × 106 to 0.7 × 106 respectively; (ii) a 48 × 103 to 54 × 103 mol. wt. nucleocapsid (N) polypeptide; and (iii) two external glycopolypeptides, 72 × 103 to 84 × 103 mol. wt. (G1) and 30 × 103 to 40 × 103 mol. wt. (G2). Cross-immune precipitation analyses have confirmed that viruses in the Nairovirus genus share antigenic determinants and are antigenically distinct from representative members of the Bunyavirus, Phlebovirus and Uukuvirus genera (Bunyaviridae). %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/0022-1317-55-1-165