Exploring the virome of cattle with non-suppurative encephalitis of unknown etiology by metagenomics

Daniel Wüthrich; Céline L Boujon; Laura Truchet; Senija Selimovic-Hamza; Anna Oevermann; Ilias G Bouzalas; Rémy Bruggmann; Torsten Seuberlich

doi:10.1016/j.virol.2016.03.009

Exploring the virome of cattle with non-suppurative encephalitis of unknown etiology by metagenomics

Virology. 2016 Jun:493:22-30. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2016.03.009. Epub 2016 Mar 18.

Authors

Daniel Wüthrich¹, Céline L Boujon², Laura Truchet², Senija Selimovic-Hamza³, Anna Oevermann², Ilias G Bouzalas², Rémy Bruggmann⁴, Torsten Seuberlich⁵

Affiliations

¹ Interfaculty Bioinformatics Unit, University of Bern and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Bern, Switzerland; Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
² Neurocenter, Division of Neurological Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
³ Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Neurocenter, Division of Neurological Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁴ Interfaculty Bioinformatics Unit, University of Bern and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Bern, Switzerland.
⁵ Neurocenter, Division of Neurological Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address: torsten.seuberlich@vetsuisse.unibe.ch.

PMID: 26994586
DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2016.03.009

Abstract

Non-suppurative encephalitis is one of the most frequent pathological diagnosis in cattle with neurological disease, but there is a gap in the knowledge on disease-associated pathogens. In order to identify viruses that are associated with non-suppurative encephalitis in cattle, we used a viral metagenomics approach on a sample set of 16 neurologically-diseased cows. We detected six virus candidates: parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV-5), bovine astrovirus CH13/NeuroS1 (BoAstV-CH13/NeuroS1), bovine polyomavirus 2 (BPyV-2 SF), ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2), bovine herpesvirus 6 (BHV-6) and a novel bovine betaretrovirus termed BoRV-CH15. In a case-control study using PCR, BoAstV-CH13 (p=0.046), BoPV-2 SF (p=0.005) and BoHV-6 (p=4.3E-05) were statistically associated with the disease. These data expand our knowledge on encephalitis-associated pathogens in cattle and point to the value of NGS in resolving complex infection scenarios in a clinical disease setting.

Keywords: Astrovirus; Cattle; Encephalitis; Herpesvirus; Metagenomics; Neurological disease; Parainfluenza virus; Polyomavirus; Retrovirus.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Case-Control Studies
Cattle
Cattle Diseases / virology*
DNA, Viral
Encephalitis, Viral / veterinary*
Encephalitis, Viral / virology
Metagenomics* / methods
RNA, Viral
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Sequence Analysis, RNA
Viruses / classification
Viruses / genetics
Viruses / isolation & purification*

Substances

DNA, Viral
RNA, Viral