GENETIC DIVERSITY AND PHYLOGENETIC CLASSIFICATION OF VIRAL HEMORRHAGIC SEPTICEMIA VIRUS (VHSV)

The present study was undertaken to determine the genetic diversity of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) and to gain insight into the molecular epidemiology of this fish rhabdovirus. The sequences of the nonstructural (NV) protein and the transmembrane (G) protein of sequential North American and European isolates of VHSV were determined and used to compute phylogenetic trees. According to the percentage of nucleotide or amino acid similarities, North American and European isolates formed 2 clearly distant genetic groups. While North American isolates clustered into a highly homogeneous genetic group, European isolates exhibited a higher genetic variability. Subgrouping based on this variability could be correlated with both the geographic origin and the serological classification.