IDENTIFICATION OF VIRAL STRUCTURAL POLYPEPTIDES OF THOGOTO VIRUS (A TICK-BORNE ORTHOMYXO-LIKE VIRUS) AND FUNCTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE GLYCOPROTEIN

Thogoto (THO) virus is a tick-borne virus which shares morphological and genetic features with members of the Orthomyxoviridae family although the viral glycoprotein appears to be related to gp64 of baculoviruses. Characterization of THO virus was undertaken to clarify its taxonomic position. Purified virus preparations contained at least six virus-encoded polypeptides with apparent M(r) values ranging from 29K to 92K. A 75K polypeptide was identified as an envelope-associated glycoprotein by Triton X-100 and salt dissociation studies, and by proteolytic degradation of the exposed proteins of the virion. By the same criteria, the nucleoprotein and the matrix protein were identified as the 52K and 29K polypeptides, respectively. Immunofluorescence studies using monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) located the glycoprotein on the external cell membrane and the nucleoprotein in the nucleus of infected cells indicating that virus replication involved a nuclear phase. In addition, the virus displayed haemagglutination and haemolytic activities with an optimum at pH 6. These activities are functions of the viral glycoprotein since they were inhibited by anti-glycoprotein MAbs. The data reported here support the notion that THO virus is a member of the Orthomyxoviridae family but that it should be classified in a group distinct from the other influenza viruses.