Frontiers in Veterinary Science (Apr 2022)

Isolation and Phylogenetic Analysis of a Hunnivirus Strain in Water Buffaloes From China

  • Haifeng Liu,
  • Xinyue Zhu,
  • Qinting Dong,
  • Chengpeng Qiao,
  • Yuhang Luo,
  • Yi Liu,
  • Yanlin Zou,
  • Huanghao Liu,
  • Cuilan Wu,
  • Jieyu Su,
  • Hao Peng,
  • Kang Ouyang,
  • Ying Chen,
  • Jun Li,
  • Zuzhang Wei,
  • Weijian Huang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.851743
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9

Abstract

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In recent years, hunniviruses have been reported in a variety of animal species from many countries. Here, hunnivirus was detected in fecal samples from water buffaloes and named as BufHuV-GX-2106. The samples were inoculated into cultures of MDBK cells supplemented with TPCK trypsin and the BufHuV-GX-2106 strain was stably passaged and replicated. Electron microscopic analysis showed the BufHuV-GX-2106 virus particles were spherical and 20~30 nm in diameter. The complete genome of a plaque purified sample of BufHuV-GX-2106 was determined and analyzed. Genomic analysis revealed that the whole sequence of BufHuV-GX-2106 was ~7,601 nucleotides (nt) in length and consisted of a large open reading frame of 6,759nt, a 5′UTR, a 3'UTR and a poly(A) tail. The complete genome sequence of BufHuV-GX-2106 shares 68-85% nucleotide identities with other known hunnivirus strains, indicating high genetic heterogeneity among these viruses. Phylogenetic analysis showed that BufHuV-GX-2106 belonged to the Hunnivirus A species and was more closely related to ovine hunnivirus than other known viruses of this type. This study describes the first isolation and complete genome sequence of a hunnivirus strain from water buffaloes. In addition, this study will help to understand the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of Hunnivirus A among different animal species.

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