Abstract
Since its successful isolation in China in 1995, the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) has been mutating into highly pathogenic strains by constantly changing pathogenicity and genetic makeup. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and genetic variation of nonstructural protein 1 (NSP1) in PRRSV-2, the main strain prevalent in China. After formulating hypotheses regarding the biology of the NSP1 protein, the nucleotide and amino acid similarity of NSP1 were analyzed and compared in 193 PRRSV-2 strains. The results showed that NSP1 has a stable hydrophobic protein with a molecular weight of 43,060.76 Da. Although NSP1 lacked signal peptides, it could regulate host cell signaling. Furthermore, NSP1 of different strains had high nucleotide (79.6-100%) and amino acid similarity (78.6-100%). In the amino acid sequence comparison of 15 representative strains of PRRSV-2, multiple amino acid substitution sites were found in NSP1. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that lineages 1 and 8 had different evolutionary branches with long genetic distances. This study lays the foundation for an in-depth understanding of the nature and genetic variation of NSP1 and the development of a safe and effective vaccine in the future.