Technologies

This invention describes the complete nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the envelope-1 (E1) and core genes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) isolates from around the world and the grouping of these isolates into fourteen distinct HCV genotypes. Specifically the invention relates to oligonucleotides, peptides, and recombinant proteins derived from the envelope-1 and core gene sequences of the HCV isolates and to diagnostic methods and vaccines which employ these reagents. Envelope polynucleotide sequences from 51 isolates and core sequences from 52 isolates were analyzed, along with their derived amino acid sequences.