Isolation of buffalo poxvirus from clinical case and variations in the genetics of the B5R gene over fifty passages

Virus Genes. 2015 Aug;51(1):45-50. doi: 10.1007/s11262-015-1209-6. Epub 2015 Jun 13.

Abstract

Outbreaks of buffalopox affect udder and teats, which may ultimately lead to mastitis in dairy buffalo and can significantly compromise the production. In this study, we report isolation of buffalo poxvirus and sequence analysis of the B5R gene collected from the buffalo clinically suspected to be poxvirus infected. The virus was isolated on BHK-21 cell line and was passaged for 50 times, B5R gene was amplified and sequenced using gene-specific primers, and analyzed at both nucleotide and amino acid levels. Phylogenetically, the isolate can be classified close to the previously reported Pakistani and Indian isolates with certain level of differential clustering patterns. Three significant putative mutations (I2K, N64D, and K111E) were observed in the B5R protein. The K111E was common with previous human isolate from Karachi, Pakistan in 2005. These mutations differed from poxviruses reported from the neighboring countries. Some deletion mutations were observed which were recovered in upcoming passages. The K111E mutation suggests potential to cause zoonotic infection in human all over the country.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Substitution
  • Animals
  • Buffaloes*
  • Cell Line
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Cricetinae
  • DNA, Viral / chemistry
  • DNA, Viral / genetics
  • Epithelial Cells / virology
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation*
  • Pakistan
  • Phylogeny
  • Point Mutation
  • Poxviridae / genetics*
  • Poxviridae / isolation & purification*
  • Poxviridae Infections / veterinary*
  • Poxviridae Infections / virology
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Sequence Deletion
  • Sequence Homology
  • Serial Passage
  • Viral Envelope Proteins / genetics*
  • Virus Cultivation

Substances

  • DNA, Viral
  • Viral Envelope Proteins