Identification of Novel Astroviruses in the Gastrointestinal Tract of Domestic Cats
Kate Van Brussel,
Xiuwan Wang,
Mang Shi,
Maura Carrai,
Jun Li,
Vito Martella,
Julia A. Beatty,
Edward C. Holmes,
Vanessa R. Barrs
Affiliations
Kate Van Brussel
School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Xiuwan Wang
Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China
Mang Shi
Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, School of Life and Environmental Sciences and School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Maura Carrai
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China
Jun Li
Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China
Vito Martella
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Aldo Moro of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, Italy
Julia A. Beatty
School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Edward C. Holmes
Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, School of Life and Environmental Sciences and School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Vanessa R. Barrs
School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Astroviruses, isolated from numerous avian and mammalian species including humans, are commonly associated with enteritis and encephalitis. Two astroviruses have previously been identified in cats, and while definitive evidence is lacking, an association with enteritis is suggested. Using metagenomic next-generation sequencing of viral nucleic acids from faecal samples, we identified two novel feline astroviruses termed Feline astrovirus 3 and 4. These viruses were isolated from healthy shelter-housed kittens (Feline astrovirus 3; 6448 bp) and from a kitten with diarrhoea that was co-infected with Feline parvovirus (Feline astrovirus 4, 6549 bp). Both novel astroviruses shared a genome arrangement of three open reading frames (ORFs) comparable to that of other astroviruses. Phylogenetic analysis of the concatenated ORFs, ORF1a, ORF1b and capsid protein revealed that both viruses were phylogenetically distinct from other feline astroviruses, although their precise evolutionary history could not be accurately determined due to a lack of resolution at key nodes. Large-scale molecular surveillance studies of healthy and diseased cats are needed to determine the pathogenicity of feline astroviruses as single virus infections or in co-infections with other enteric viruses.
