Sequence and in vitro expression of the phosphoprotein gene of avian pneumovirus

The phosphoprotein (P) gene of two subgroup A strains of avian pneumovirus comprised 855 nucleotides containing only one substantial open reading frame encoding a protein of 278 amino acids, with a predicted Mr of 30,323. In vitro translation of P mRNA in a wheat germ system resulted in the synthesis of two polypeptides of Mr 35,000 Comparison of the deduced P protein sequence with that of the known mammalian pneumoviruses revealed overall amino acid identities ranging from 31 to 34.5%, suggesting a distant relationship. However, there was a much higher identity (63.2–68.4%) in a region of 57 residues, which included a heptad repeat sequence.