Full-length and defective enterovirus G genomes with distinct torovirus protease insertions are highly prevalent on a Chinese pig farm

• Published in: Archives of virology Vol. 163; no. 9; pp. 2471 - 2476
• Main Authors: Wang, Yan, Zhang, Wen, Liu, Zhijian, Fu, Xingli, Yuan, Jiaqi, Zhao, Jieji, Lin, Yuan, Shen, Quan, Wang, Xiaochun, Deng, Xutao, Delwart, Eric, Shan, Tongling, Yang, Shixing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01.09.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brief Report; Capsid protein; Coronaviridae; Deletion mutant; Genomes; Hogs; Infectious Diseases; Insertion; Medical Microbiology; Papain; Proteinase; Recombinants; Recombination; Strains (organisms); Virology; VP1 protein
• ISSN: 0304-8608; 1432-8798
• DOI: 10.1007/s00705-018-3875-x

Recombination occurs frequently between enteroviruses (EVs) which are classified within the same species of the Picornaviridae family. Here, using viral metagenomics, the genomes of two recombinant EV-Gs (strains EVG 01/NC_CHI/2014 and EVG 02/NC_CHI/2014) found in the feces of pigs from a swine farm in China are described. The two strains are characterized by distinct insertion of a papain-like protease gene from toroviruses classified within the Coronaviridae family. According to recent reports the site of the torovirus protease insertion was located at the 2C/3A junction region in EVG 02/NC_CHI/2014. For the other variant EVG 01/NC_CHI/2014, the inserted protease sequence replaced the entire viral capsid protein region up to the VP1/2A junction. These two EV-G strains were highly prevalent in the same pig farm with all animals shedding the full-length genome (EVG 02/NC_CHI/2014) while 65% also shed the capsid deletion mutant (EVG 01/NC_CHI/2014). A helper-defective virus relationship between the two co-circulating EV-G recombinants is hypothesized.