Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) is an etiologic agent of bovine respiratory disease. The rapid evolutionary rate of BRSV contributes to genetic and antigenic heterogeneity of field strains and causes occasional vaccine failure. We conducted molecular epidemiologic characterization of BRSV circulating in Japan to obtain genetic information for vaccine-based disease control. Phylogenetic analysis of G and F gene sequences revealed that all of the isolated Japanese BRSV strains clustered in the same genetic subgroup, which was distinct from the 9 known groups. We assigned the Japanese group to subgenotype X. The Japanese isolates formed 2 temporal clusters: isolates from 2003 to 2005 clustered in lineage A; isolates from 2017 to 2019 formed lineage B. The alignment of the deduced amino acid sequences of the G gene revealed that the central hydrophobic region responsible for viral antigenicity is conserved in all of the isolates; unique amino acid mutations were found mainly in mucin-like regions. Our results suggest that BRSV has evolved uniquely in Japan to form the new subgenotype X; the antigenic homogeneity of the viruses within this group is inferred.
Keywords: bovine respiratory disease; bovine respiratory syncytial virus; subgenotype X.