Genetic diversity in the VP1 gene of foot-and-mouth disease virus serotype Asia 1

 Complete nucleotide sequence of the 1D (VP1-encoding) gene of 61 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) serotype Asia 1 virus isolates recovered from different outbreaks in India between 1985 and 1999 including two vaccine strains currently used were determined. The sequences were compared with each other and those from other Asian countries. On the basis of phylogenetic analysis the viruses could be grouped into four genotypes (genotypes I–IV). All the 61 isolates from India belong to a single genotype (genotype-II) which is further subdivided into three lineages (B1, B2 and B3) under the same genotype. The viruses of the lineage B1 and B3 were found to be more prevalent before 1996 while the viruses of lineage B2 appeared to be new variants responsible for most of the recent outbreaks. Most of the isolates of lineage B1 lack one amino acid in the VP1 protein (position 44) whereas most of the isolates of lineage B2 and B3 contain it which indicates the possibility of these lineages having evolved independently. The rate of evolution of FMDV Asia 1 virus was also estimated and found to be 2.7 × 10−2 synonymous substitutions per nucleotide per year.