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

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

Virol Sin. 2022 Apr;37(2):223-228. doi: 10.1016/j.virs.2022.02.003. Epub 2022 Feb 12.

Authors

Gang Lu¹, Chaoxi Chen², Ran Shao³, Juan Zhang⁴, Jinghao Li⁵, Siqi Cai³, Lintao Zhong³, Zhiying Lai³, Jiajun Ou³, Xin Yin⁶, Guihong Zhang⁷, Shoujun Li⁸

Affiliations

¹ College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China; State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, 150000, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Severe Clinical Animal Diseases, Guangzhou, 510642, China; Guangdong Technological Engineering Research Center for Pet, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
² College of Life Science and Technology, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
³ College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Severe Clinical Animal Diseases, Guangzhou, 510642, China; Guangdong Technological Engineering Research Center for Pet, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, 150000, China.
⁵ General Station of Forest and Grassland Pest Management, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Shenyang, 110000, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, 150000, China. Electronic address: yinxin@caas.cn.
⁷ College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China. Electronic address: guihongzh@scau.edu.cn.
⁸ College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Severe Clinical Animal Diseases, Guangzhou, 510642, China; Guangdong Technological Engineering Research Center for Pet, Guangzhou, 510642, China. Electronic address: shoujunli@scau.edu.cn.

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 5' 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 5' 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.

Keywords: Bovine hepacivirus (BovHepV); Cattle; China; Epidemiology; Genetic diversity.

MeSH terms

5' Untranslated Regions
Animals
Cattle
China / epidemiology
Epidemiologic Studies
Genetic Variation
Genotype
Hepacivirus* / genetics
Nucleotides*
Phylogeny

Substances

5' Untranslated Regions
Nucleotides