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Bluetongue virus (BTV) particles were initially suggested to be morphologically similar to reovirus particles (Owen and Muntz 1966; Studdert et al. 1966; Els and Verwoerd 1969) and were subsequently confirmed to contain a. double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) genome as in reovirus (Els 1973; Verwoerd 1969; Verwoerd et al. 1970; Bowne and Ritchie 1970). BTV, along with other morphologically related viruses, is classified as an orbivirus within the family Reoviridae (Borden et al. 1971; Murphy et al. 1971). To date 24 different BTV serotypes have been identified from different parts of the world including North and South America, Australia, Africa, and Southeast Asia (Howell 1960, 1970; Howell and Verwoerd 1971; Gorman et al. 1983; Knudson and Shope 1985). In the early 1970s Verwoerd and coworkers carried out the first biochemical studies of the BTV particle and since then many further studies on the genome of BTV have been done. In this chapter we intend to define the current state of our understanding of the genetics and the structure of the bluetongue genes and gene products. |
