Molecular and phylogenetic analyses of the haemagglutinin (H) proteins of field isolates of canine distemper virus from naturally infected dogs Iwatsuki, Kiyoko and Miyashita, Naoko and Yoshida, Emi and Gemma, Tsuyoshi and Shin, Yeon-Sill and Mori, Takeshi and Hirayama, Norio and Kai, Chieko and Mikami, Takashi,, 78, 373-380 (1997), doi = https://doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317-78-2-373, publicationName = Microbiology Society, issn = 0022-1317, abstract= We isolated three strains of canine distemper virus (CDV)-the Ueno, Hamamatsu, and Yanaka strains -from dogs in Japan and analysed the molecular properties of their haemagglutinin (H) proteins. Immunoprecipitation of all three strains with a monoclonal antibody revealed H proteins with molecular masses of 84 kDa, which differs from the molecular mass (78 kDa) of the H protein of the Onderstepoort vaccine strain. However, after tuni- camycin treatment immunoprecipitation identified H proteins of identical molecular mass (68 kDa) for all three field isolates and the vaccine strain. Sequence analysis showed nine potential sites for asparagine-linked glycosylation in the H proteins of the new isolates, in contrast to four in the H protein of the Onderstepoort strain. Thus, variation in glycosylation of the H proteins of the isolates and the vaccine strain may cause differences in antigenicity of the viruses. Sequences of the H genes showed that the new Japanese isolates have 99% identity with each other, 95% with other European and American isolates (from seals, a German dog, a ferret and large felids) and 90% with the vaccine strain. Phylogenetically, the new Japanese isolates form one cluster which is separate from recent European or American isolates, all of which are distinct from vaccine strains., language=, type=