Complete Genome Sequence, Taxonomic Assignment, and Comparative Analysis of the Untranslated Regions of the Modoc Virus, a Flavivirus with No Known Vector

We recently developed a model for flavivirus infection in mice and hamsters using the Modoc virus (MODV), a flavivirus with no known vector (P. Leyssen, A. Van Lommel, C. Drosten, H. Schmitz, E. De Clercq, and J. Neyts, 2001, Virology 279, 27-37). We now present the coding and noncoding sequence of MODV. The Modoc virus genome was determined to be 10,600 nucleotides in length with a single open reading frame extending from nucleotides 110 to 10,234, encoding 3374 amino acids. The deduced gene order of the single open reading frame is C-prM-E-NS1-NS2A-NS2B-NS3-NS4A-NS4B-NS5, which is exactly the same as that of the mosquito- and tick-borne flaviviruses. It is flanked by a 5'- and 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of 109 and 366 nucleotides, respectively. Alignment of the MODV amino acid sequence with that of 20 other flaviviruses revealed several regions with high sequence similarity corresponding to functionally important domains (e.g., the serine protease/helicase/NTPase of NS3 and the methyltransferase/RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of NS5) and conserved sites for proteolytic cleavage by viral and cellular proteases. Phylogenetic analysis of the entire coding region confirmed the classification of MODV within the flaviviruses with no known vector, which is in agreement with previous findings based on partial NS5 sequences. A detailed comparative analysis of the putative folding patterns of the 5'- and 3'-UTR of MODV and of the tick- and mosquito-borne viruses was carried out. Structural elements in the 5'- and 3' UTR of MODV that are preserved among vector-borne flaviviruses were noted and so were structural elements distinguishing the MODV UTRs from mosquito-borne and tick-borne flaviviruses. Also the putative secondary structure of circularized MODV RNA is presented.