Determination of Serotypes of Astroviruses by Reverse Transcription‐Polymerase Chain Reaction and Homologies of the Types by the Sequencing of Japanese Isolates

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Abstract
Human standard astroviruses, serotypes 1 to 7, and 35 Japanese isolates were typed by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) with serotype‐specific primers for the first time. The results were identical with those obtained by enzyme immunoassay with serotype‐specific polyclonal antibodies, a method which has already been reported. RT‐PCR with serotype‐specific primers is useful for epidemiological studies of astroviruses where serotype‐specific polyclonal antibodies are not available. Two parts of the capsid region, N terminus and C terminus, were sequenced. Serotypes differed in those regions. The N terminus differed less than the C terminus between serotypes. Both the N terminus and C terminus were similar intraserotypically with the exception of serotype‐4 isolates which could be divided into A and B subgroups on the basis of their C terminus sequences, which were not known previously.