Attenuated or mutated virus used to produce antibodies against BVD (bovine viral diarrhea) virus or vaccines to protect cattle from infection

摘要

Methods of producing an attenuated form of the bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus by inactivating the Npro protease gene in the viral genome are disclosed. The attenuated virus, or the mutated viral genome, is much less infectious than its wild-type counterpart in bovine cell lines and can be used to produce antibodies against BVD or in vaccines designed to protect cattle from viral infection. The nucleotide sequence disclosed is substantially the same as ones specified in prior art in terms of structure and function. This particular sequence, i.e. SEQ ID NO 1 from nt 39 to nt 12116 and the corresponding virus it encodes have been designated as the "BVDdN1" genome and virus.