Abstract
Synthetic peptides P37-49 and P63-79, derived from the pre-S region of duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV), have been synthesized. Only P37-49 was reactive with rabbit anti-DHBs/pre-S antibodies by radioimmunoprecipitation. Antiserum prepared against P37-47 reacted with a 35K polypeptide of native DHBs/pre-S by immunoblotting. It is concluded that P37-49 (MGQHPAKSMDVRR) mimics one of the epitopes of the DHBV pre-S antigen.