From Lesions to Viral Clones: Biological and Molecular Diversity amongst Autochthonous Brazilian Vaccinia Virus
Graziele Oliveira,
Felipe Assis,
Gabriel Almeida,
Jonas Albarnaz,
Maurício Lima,
Ana Cláudia Andrade,
Rafael Calixto,
Cairo Oliveira,
José Diomedes Neto,
Giliane Trindade,
Paulo César Ferreira,
Erna Geessien Kroon,
Jônatas Abrahão
Affiliations
Graziele Oliveira
Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
Felipe Assis
Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
Gabriel Almeida
AQUACEN) Laboratório Nacional Oficial de Referência de Doenças de Animais Aquáticos, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
Jonas Albarnaz
Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
Maurício Lima
Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
Ana Cláudia Andrade
Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
Rafael Calixto
Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
Cairo Oliveira
Laboratório de Retroviroses, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Escola de Veterinária da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
José Diomedes Neto
Centro Agropecuário, Departamento de Ciência Animal, Universidade Federal do Pará, Pará 66075-110, Brazil
Giliane Trindade
Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
Paulo César Ferreira
Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
Erna Geessien Kroon
Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
Jônatas Abrahão
Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
Vaccinia virus (VACV) has had an important role for humanity because of its use during the smallpox eradication campaign. VACV is the etiologic agent of the bovine vaccinia (BV), an emerging zoonosis that has been associated with economic, social, veterinary and public health problems, mainly in Brazil and India. Despite the current and historical VACV importance, there is little information about its circulation, prevalence, origins and maintenance in the environment, natural reservoirs and diversity. Brazilian VACV (VACV-BR) are grouped into at least two groups based on genetic and biological diversity: group 1 (G1) and group 2 (G2). In this study, we went to the field and investigated VACV clonal diversity directly from exanthemous lesions, during BV outbreaks. Our results demonstrate that the G1 VACV-BR were more frequently isolated. Furthermore, we were able to co-detect the two variants (G1 and G2) in the same sample. Molecular and biological analysis corroborated previous reports and confirmed the co-circulation of two VACV-BR lineages. The detected G2 clones presented exclusive genetic and biological markers, distinct to reference isolates, including VACV-Western Reserve. Two clones presented a mosaic profile, with both G1 and G2 features based on the molecular analysis of A56R, A26L and C23L genes. Indeed, some SNPs and INDELs in A56R nucleotide sequences were observed among clones of the same virus population, maybe as a result of an increased mutation rate in a mixed population. These results provide information about the diversity profile in VACV populations, highlighting its importance to VACV evolution and maintenance in the environment.
