Construction of an infectious molecular clone of Japanese encephalitis virus genotype V and its derivative subgenomic replicon capable of expressing a foreign gene

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) genotype V was originally isolated in Malaysia in 1952 and has long been restricted to the area. In 2009, sudden emergence of the genotype V in China and Korea was reported, suggesting expansion of its geographical distribution. Although studies on the genotype V are becoming more important, they have been limited partly due to lack of its infectious molecular clone. In this study, a plasmid carrying cDNA corresponding to the entire genome of JEV Muar strain, which belongs to genotype V, in the downstream of T7 promoter was constructed. Electroporation of viral RNA transcribed by T7 RNA polymerase (T7RNAP) in vitro from the plasmid led to production of progeny viruses both in mammalian and mosquito cells. Also, transfection of the infectious clone plasmid into mammalian cells expressing T7RNAP transiently or stably was demonstrated to generate infectious progenies. When the viral structural protein genes were partially deleted from the full-length cDNA, the subgenomic RNA transcribed in vitro from the modified plasmid was shown to replicate itself in mammalian cells as a replicon. The replicon carrying the firefly luciferase gene in place of the deleted structural protein genes was also shown to efficiently replicate itself and express luciferase in mammalian cells. Compared with the replicon derived from JEV genotype III (Nakayama strain), the genotype V-derived replicon appeared to be more tolerant to introduction of a foreign gene. The infectious clone and the replicons constructed in this study may serve as useful tools for characterizing JEV genotype V.