Diverse human and bat-like rotavirus G3 strains circulating in suburban Bangkok

PLoS One. 2022 May 24;17(5):e0268465. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268465. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Although rotavirus vaccines are available in many parts of the world and are effective in reducing the overall incidence of rotavirus infection, it remains a major cause of diarrhea in less-developed countries. Among various rotavirus group A (RVA) strains, the increasingly common genotype G3 (defined by the VP7 gene) has been identified in both humans and animals. Our previous epidemiological surveillance in Bangkok found several unusual non-vaccine-like G3 strains in patients with diarrhea. In this study, we sequenced and characterized the genomes of seven of these G3 strains, which formed combinations with genotypes P[4], P[6], P[9], and P[10] (defined by the VP4 gene). Interestingly, we identified a bat-like RVA strain with the genome constellation G3-P[10]-I3-R3-C3-M3-A9-N3-T3-E3-H6, which has not been previously reported in the literature. The amino acid residues deduced from the nucleotide sequences of our G3 strains differed at the antigenic epitopes to those of the VP7 capsid protein of the G3 strain in RotaTeq vaccine. Although it is not unusual for the segmented genomes of RVA to reassort and give rise to emerging novel strains, the atypical G3 strains identified in this study suggest possible animal-to-human RVA zoonotic spillover even in urban areas.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Capsid Proteins / genetics
  • Chiroptera* / genetics
  • Diarrhea
  • Genome, Viral
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Phylogeny
  • Rotavirus Infections*
  • Rotavirus* / genetics
  • Thailand

Substances

  • Capsid Proteins

Grants and funding

This study was funded by Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology Fund, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and the Beasiswa Pendidikan Pascasarjana Luar Negeri (BPP-LN) Scholarship from the Directorate General of Higher Education, Research, and Technology; Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of The Republic of Indonesia to Fajar Budi Lestari. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.