Genomic characterization and the prevalence of a novel copiparvovirus in wild sika deer (Cervus nippon) in Japan

Tsutomu Nishizawa; Masaharu Takahashi; Hiroyuki Matsuoka; Akira Nishizono; Seigo Yamamoto; Emiko Fukui; Hitoshi Mizuo; Manri Kawakami; Kazumoto Murata; Hiroaki Okamoto

doi:10.1016/j.virusres.2022.198749

Genomic characterization and the prevalence of a novel copiparvovirus in wild sika deer (Cervus nippon) in Japan

Virus Res. 2022 Jun:314:198749. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2022.198749. Epub 2022 Mar 21.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Virology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Shimotsuke, Tochigi 329-0498, Japan.
² Iida Public Health Center, Iida, Nagano 395-0034, Japan.
³ Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, Yufu, Oita 879-5593, Japan.
⁴ Miyazaki Prefectural Institute for Public Health and Environment, Miyazaki, Miyazaki 889-2155, Japan.
⁵ Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Reproduction, School of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University, Utsunomiya, Tochigi 321-8505, Japan.
⁶ Department of Internal Medicine, Kin-ikyo Chuo Hospital, Sapporo, Hokkaido 007-8505, Japan.
⁷ Center for Liver Disease, Okayama Saiseikai General Hospital, Okayama, Okayama 700-8511, Japan.
⁸ Division of Virology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Shimotsuke, Tochigi 329-0498, Japan. Electronic address: hokamoto@jichi.ac.jp.

PMID: 35344744
DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2022.198749

Abstract

A preliminary metagenomic analysis of the virome of wild sika deer (Cervus nippon) blood in Japan resulted in the identification of a novel parvovirus. The virus was closest, but only 44.7-60.7% identical to 17 reported strains belonging to the genus Copiparvovirus within the subfamily Parvovirinae, over the near-entire genomic sequence. The sika deer copiparvovirus DNA was detected in 15% (31/206) of sika deer captured in 7 prefectures of Japan, and a region-dependent prevalence of 0-66.7% was noted, with a biased distribution in the southern part of Japan. The observed biased distribution of sika deer copiparvovirus may be due to the habitat density of deer and the number of ticks, which might play a role in the transmission of the virus.

Keywords: Cervus nippon; Copiparvovirus; Next-generation sequencing; Parvoviridae; Phylogenetic analysis.

MeSH terms

Animals
Deer*
Japan / epidemiology
Parvovirinae*
Phylogeny
Prevalence
Ticks*