RESUMO

Serial virus specimens rescued from rabbits, experimentally infected with bovine immunodeficiency (BIV) strain R29, were monitored for changes in quasispecies population, using the single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. The generation of characteristic SSCP patterns enables the rapid differentiation of BIV variants derived from the conserved part on the env region of the BIV genome, reducing the need for expensive and time-consuming direct sequencing analyses. Our results showed genetic polymorphism among a number of sampled BIV population in experimentally infected rabbits. At least three SSCP patterns (BIV quasispecies) were detected. The SSCP analysis allows for an easy, sensitive, and rapid screening of genetic variants of the virus and the assessment of variation at a number of tissue target sites. These variations may relate to cell-type targets and/or disease progression, and could be significant to our understanding of lentiviral pathogenesis.

Assuntos

Variação Genética , Vírus da Imunodeficiência Bovina/classificação , Vírus da Imunodeficiência Bovina/genética , Infecções por Lentivirus/virologia , Polimorfismo Conformacional de Fita Simples , Animais , Bovinos , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Infecções por HIV/fisiopatologia , Infecções por HIV/virologia , Humanos , Vírus da Imunodeficiência Bovina/isolamento & purificação , Vírus da Imunodeficiência Bovina/patogenicidade , Infecções por Lentivirus/fisiopatologia , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase/métodos , Coelhos