Fourteen single and two double point mutants in the highly conserved region (positions 56 to 159) of the G gene of viral hemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV), a salmonid rhabdovirus, were selected and obtained in plasmids by site-directed mutagenesis. Fish cell monolayers transfected with the mutant plasmids were then assayed for protein G (pG) expression, conformation-dependent monoclonal antibody (MAb) reactivity, and cell-cell fusion. Some mutations located in the phospholipid-binding p2 peptide (positions 82 to 110; mutants P86A, A96E, G98A, and R107A) abolished both MAb recognition and fusion activity, while others (P79A, L85S, and R103A) abolished MAb recognition but retained fusion at similar or lower pHs compared to those for the wild type. Phospholipid-binding assays of p2-derived synthetic peptides suggested that phosphatidylserine binding was not affected by the mutations studied. On the other hand, three (P79A, L85S, and T135E) of the four mutants retaining fusion activity mapped around two locations showing amino acid variation in 22 VHSV isolates and in neutralizing MAb-resistant mutants described previously. Mutations located in the hypothetical fusion peptide (positions 142 to 159; mutants F147K, P148K, and W154K) abolished both MAb recognition and fusion activity. The existence of mutants with altered conformation and defective fusion in both p2 and fusion peptides provides further evidence in favor of the participation of these and adjacent regions in some of the steps of the VHSV fusion processes, as suggested by previous studies. In addition, because the studied region induced strong immunological responses in trout, some of the mutants described here might be used to design attenuated VHSV vaccines.Rhabdoviruses cause highly damaging diseases in fish reared by the worldwide salmon culture industry. Among fish rhabdoviruses (novirhabdoviruses), the viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV), which originated in Europe but has recently been found in America (26, 41), affects not only salmonids but also cod, turbot (38), sea bass, eels, flatfish, and shrimp (8,24,27). Despite many efforts, including successful DNA vaccines at the laboratory level, a commercial vaccine against VHSV is not yet available (1,18,25,30).The whole genome of VHSV has been sequenced (23), and the disulfide structure of its protein G (pG) has been elucidated (12). Reverse genetic methods have been developed for the VHSV-related rhabdovirus infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (5-7), which could allow the design of new vaccines. The study of rhabdovirus fusion in the VHSV model could be important in the design of alternative vaccines to fight these diseases.The pG mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), a wellstudied mammalian rhabdovirus, with an altered extent of fusion and/or optimal fusion pH in vitro, had mutations located either in the fusion peptide or in carboxy-terminal regions affecting the low-pH conformational changes required for fusion (39,40,43). Alignment of the pG sequence of VSV with those of 14 o...