Differences in the electrophoretic migration rates of polypeptides and RNAs of recent isolates of influenza B viruses

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Abstract
The electrophoretic migration rates of structural and non-structural poly-peptides of 38 influenza B viruses isolated in epidemics in 1978–1980 and antigenically closely related to B/Singapore/222/79 virus were compared using high resolution SDS polyacrylamide gels. Thirty of the viruses could be distinguished from the prototype B/Singapore/222/79 virus by electrophoretic migration rate differences in HA, 17 by differences in NP and 27 by differences in mobility of the NS1 polypeptide. Mobility differences of NP, NS1 and HA polypeptides was noted in influenza B viruses isolated in the UK in the same year. In addition, electrophoretic mobility of32P labelled virus RNAs varied for certain UK isolates and indicated heterogeneity in genes 2, 3, 4 and 8 coding for polymerase proteins 2 and 1, nucleoprotein (NP) and non-structural protein (NS1) respectively.