Identification and genetic characterization of bovine hepacivirus in China: A large scale epidemiological study

Gang Lu; Chaoxi Chen; Ran Shao; Juan Zhang; Jinghao Li; Siqi Cai; Lintao Zhong; Zhiying Lai; Jiajun Ou; Xin Yin; Guihong Zhang; Shoujun Li

doi:10.1016/j.virs.2022.02.003

April 2022

Gang Lu, Chaoxi Chen, Ran Shao, Juan Zhang, Jinghao Li, Siqi Cai, Lintao Zhong, Zhiying Lai, Jiajun Ou, Xin Yin, Guihong Zhang and Shoujun Li. Identification and genetic characterization of bovine hepacivirus in China: A large scale epidemiological study[J]. Virologica Sinica, 2022, 37(2): 223-228. doi: 10.1016/j.virs.2022.02.003

Citation: Gang Lu, Chaoxi Chen, Ran Shao, Juan Zhang, Jinghao Li, Siqi Cai, Lintao Zhong, Zhiying Lai, Jiajun Ou, Xin Yin, Guihong Zhang, Shoujun Li. Identification and genetic characterization of bovine hepacivirus in China: A large scale epidemiological study .VIROLOGICA SINICA, 2022, 37(2) : 223-228. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.virs.2022.02.003

中国牛肝炎病毒的鉴定和遗传特征：一个大规模流行病学研究

卢刚 ^a,b,c,d ,
陈朝喜 ^e ,
邵冉 ^a,c,d ,
张娟 ^b ,
李景浩 ^f ,
蔡思琪 ^a,c,d ,
钟林涛 ^a,c,d ,
赖志颖 ^a,c,d ,
欧嘉俊 ^a,c,d ,
尹鑫 ^b,, ,
张桂红 ^a,, ,
李守军 ^a,c,d,,

华南农业大学兽医学院

通讯作者： 尹鑫, yinxin@caas.cn; 张桂红, guihongzh@scau.edu.cn; 李守军, shoujunli@scau.edu.cn
收稿日期： 2021-05-24
录用日期： 2022-02-10

摘要

牛肝炎病毒（Bovine hepacivirus,BovHepV）是一种新病毒,于2015年首次报道于加纳和德国。迄今为止，在世界范围内的牛群中都发现了该病毒流行的证据。之前的研究将该病毒分为A-G亚型。为了解中国BovHepV的流行情况和遗传特征，我们于2018年至2020年从国内七个省市的20个农场中共采集了612份牛血清样本并通过半巢式PCR检测BovHepV RNA。结果表明，49份（8.0%）样本为BovHepV RNA阳性。值得注意的是，我们首次确定牦牛可以感染BovHepV。在调查中，在所有七个省份中都检测到BovHepV，阳性率从3.1%到13.3%不等，这表明BovHepV在中国具有广泛的地理分布。测序结果显示，本研究中49株野毒株的5'UTR之间的核苷酸相似性为96.3%–100%，与先前报道的毒株之间的核苷酸相似性为93.9%–100%。此外，核苷酸分析表明5'UTR中的5个关键核苷酸位点可以用来区分不同亚型BovHepV毒株，该结论进一步通过基因组测序和核苷酸相似性分析进行了验证。本研究中检测的所有49株国内BovHepV野毒株均归类为G亚型，而该亚型目前仅报道于中国牛群中。本研究可为更好地了解BovHepV的流行情况和基因多样性提供基础。
- 牛肝炎病毒
- , 中国
- , 流行病学
- , 基因多样性
- , 牛

Identification and genetic characterization of bovine hepacivirus in China: A large scale epidemiological study

Gang Lu ^a,b,c,d ,
Chaoxi Chen ^e ,
Ran Shao ^a,c,d ,
Juan Zhang ^b ,
Jinghao Li ^f ,
Siqi Cai ^a,c,d ,
Lintao Zhong ^a,c,d ,
Zhiying Lai ^a,c,d ,
Jiajun Ou ^a,c,d ,
Xin Yin ^b,, ,
Guihong Zhang ^a,, ,
Shoujun Li ^a,c,d,,

a College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China

Corresponding author: Xin Yin, yinxin@caas.cn Guihong Zhang, guihongzh@scau.edu.cn Shoujun Li, shoujunli@scau.edu.cn
Received Date: 24 May 2021
Accepted Date: 10 February 2022

Abstract

Bovine hepacivirus (BovHepV) is a novel virus that was recently discovered in Ghana and Germany in 2015. Until now, this virus has been identified in cattle population worldwide and is classified into subtypes A-G. To fully understand the epidemic situation and genetic characteristic of BovHepV in China, a total of 612 cattle serum samples were collected from 20 farms in seven provinces and municipality in China between 2018 and 2020 and were tested for the presence of BovHepV RNA via semi-nested PCR. The results demonstrated that 49 (8.0%) samples were BovHepV RNA-positive. It is noted that BovHepV infection in yak was confirmed for the first time. BovHepV was detected in all the seven provinces, with the positive rate ranging from 3.1% to 13.3%, which indicates a wide geographical distribution pattern of BovHepV in China. Sequencing results revealed that 50 UTR of the 49 field BovHepV strains have a nucleotide similarity of 96.3%-100% between each other and 93.9%- 100% with previously reported BovHepV strains. In addition, genetic analysis identified five critical nucleotide sites in 50 UTR to distinguish different subtypes, which was further verified by genomic sequencing and nucleotide similarity analysis. All the 49 Chinese field BovHepV strains were classified into subtype G and this subtype is only determined in cattle in China currently. This study will provide insights for us to better understand the epidemiology and genetic diversity of BovHepV.
- Bovine hepacivirus (BovHepV)
- , China
- , Epidemiology
- , Genetic diversity
- , Cattle

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Proportional views
Electronic Supplementary Material

10.1016j.virs.2022.02.003-ESM.docx