Objective: To explore the relationship between the structure and function at molecular level and the routes of transmission of Xinjiang hemorrhagic fever (XHF) virus.
Methods: S genes of five XHF virus strains were cloned, sequenced and compared with that of other Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus strains.
Results: It was found that S genes of the five viruses had 1,672 nuclei tides, while ORF of them including 1,449 nuclei tides and coded with a protein of 482 amino acid. The nucleotides homology of Chinese isolates (93.0%-99.5%) was obviously higher than that of any other S genes strains identified in other countries'. Phylogenetic tree showed that all Chinese isolates clustered into one branch and could be further divided into another three groups.
Conclusion: The sequential difference of S genes was not totally related to the host, areas and time of the viruses isolated.