Genome analysis of canine astroviruses reveals genetic heterogeneity and suggests possible inter-species transmission

Mihalov-Kovács, Eszter and Martella, Vito and Lanave, Gianvito and Bodnar, Livia and Fehér, Enikő and Marton, Szilvia and Kemenesi, Gábor and Jakab, Ferenc and Bányai, Krisztián (2017) Genome analysis of canine astroviruses reveals genetic heterogeneity and suggests possible inter-species transmission. Virus Research, 232. pp. 162-170. ISSN 0168-1702

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Abstract

tCanine astrovirus RNA was detected in the stools of 17/63 (26.9%) samples, using either a broadly reactiveconsensus RT-PCR for astroviruses or random RT-PCR coupled with massive deep sequencing. The com-plete or nearly complete genome sequence of five canine astroviruses was reconstructed that allowedmapping the genome organization and to investigate the genetic diversity of these viruses. The genomewas about 6.6 kb in length and contained three open reading frames (ORFs) flanked by a 5'UTR, and a 3'UTR plus a poly-A tail. ORF1a and ORF1b overlapped by 43 nucleotides while the ORF2 overlapped by 8nucleotides with the 3'end of ORF1b. Upon genome comparison, four strains (HUN/2012/2, HUN/2012/6,HUN/2012/115, and HUN/2012/135) were more related genetically to each other and to UK canine astro-viruses (88–96% nt identity), whilst strain HUN/2012/126 was more divergent (75–76% nt identity). In theORF1b and ORF2, strains HUN/2012/2, HUN/2012/6, and HUN/2012/135 were related genetically to othercanine astroviruses identified formerly in Europe and China, whereas strain HUN/2012/126 was relatedgenetically to a divergent canine astrovirus strain, ITA/2010/Zoid. For one canine astrovirus, HUN/2012/8,only a 3.2 kb portion of the genome, at the 3' end, could be determined. Interestingly, this strain possessedunique genetic signatures (including a longer ORF1b/ORF2 overlap and a longer 3'UTR) and it was diver-gent in both ORF1b and ORF2 from all other canine astroviruses, with the highest nucleotide sequenceidentity (68% and 63%, respectively) to a mink astrovirus, thus suggesting a possible event of interspeciestransmission. The genetic heterogeneity of canine astroviruses may pose a challenge for the diagnosticsand for future prophylaxis strategies.

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