abstract |
Sequence (I) comprises (a) the Hutch c59 DNA sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:46 of the spec; (b) degenerate sequences of the sequence of (a); (c) a mutant variant of the NANBV Hutch c59 strain with the same immunological properties and hybridising to the sequences of (a) and (b); and (d) a DNA sequence which hybridises to the sequences of (a) and (b) and represents a NANBV strain with the same immunological properties as the Hutch subgroup. Also new are:- (i) a 10-200 nucleotide portion of (I) with at least 1 nucleotide difference in sequence from NANBV strain HCV-1, HCV-BK, HCV-J, HC-J2, HC-J4, JCV-JH or JCV-Hh. The difference is silent mutation or causes a change of at least 1 aminoacid; etc. |