RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Chen, Woan-Ru A1 Tesh, Robert B. A1 Rico-Hesse, RebecaYR 1990 T1 Genetic Variation of Japanese Encephalitis Virus in Nature JF Journal of General Virology, VO 71 IS 12 SP 2915 OP 2922 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317-71-12-2915 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1465-2099, AB Forty-six strains of Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus from a variety of geographic areas in Asia were examined by primer-extension sequencing of the RNA template. A 240 nucleotide sequence from the pre-M gene region was selected for study because it provided sufficient information for determining genetic relationships among the virus isolates. Using 12% divergence as a cutoff point for virus relationships, the 46 isolates fell into three distinct genotypic groups. One genotypic group consisted of JE virus isolates from northern Thailand and Cambodia. A second group was composed of isolates from southern Thailand, Malaysia, Sarawak and Indonesia. The remainder of the isolates, from Japan, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India and Nepal, made up a third group. The implications of these findings in relation to the epidemiology of JE are discussed. Results of this study demonstrate that the comparison of short nucleotide sequences can provide insight into JE virus evolution, transmission and, possibly, pathogenesis., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/0022-1317-71-12-2915