PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases (Jul 2023)

Whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic characterisation of rabies virus strains from Moldova and north-eastern Romania.

  • Mihaela Anca Dascalu,
  • Evelyne Picard-Meyer,
  • Emmanuelle Robardet,
  • Alexandre Servat,
  • Serghei Arseniev,
  • Oxana Groza,
  • Nicolae Starciuc,
  • Vlad Vuta,
  • Florica Barbuceanu,
  • Oana Irina Tanase,
  • Florentina Daraban Bocaneti,
  • Helene Quenault,
  • Edouard Hirchaud,
  • Yannick Blanchard,
  • Elena Velescu,
  • Florence Cliquet

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011446
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 7
p. e0011446

Abstract

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BackgroundRabies is the oldest fatal zoonotic disease recognised as a neglected tropical disease and is caused by an RNA virus belonging to the genus Lyssavirus, family Rhabdoviridae.Methodology/principal findingsA deep molecular analysis was conducted on full-length nucleoprotein (N) gene and whole genome sequences of rabies virus from 37 animal brain samples collected between 2012 and 2017 to study the circulation of rabies virus (RABV) variants. The overall aim was to better understand their distribution in Moldova and north-eastern Romania. Both Sanger and high throughput sequencing on Ion Torrent and Illumina platforms were performed. Phylogenetic analysis of the RABV sequences from both Moldova and Romania revealed that all the samples (irrespective of the year of isolation and the species) belonged to a single phylogenetic group: north-eastern Europe (NEE), clustering into three assigned lineages: RO#5, RO#6 and RO#7.Conclusions/significanceHigh throughput sequencing of RABV samples from domestic and wild animals was performed for the first time for both countries, providing new insights into virus evolution and epidemiology in this less studied region, expanding our understanding of the disease.