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

• Published in: Frontiers in veterinary science 2022-04, Vol.9, p.851743-851743
• Main Authors: Liu, Haifeng, Zhu, Xinyue, Dong, Qinting, Qiao, Chengpeng, Luo, Yuhang, Liu, Yi, Zou, Yanlin, Liu, Huanghao, Wu, Cuilan, Su, Jieyu, Peng, Hao, Ouyang, Kang, Chen, Ying, Li, Jun, Wei, Zuzhang, Huang, Weijian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: buffalo hunnivirus; evolutionary analysis; genome analysis; isolation; MDBK cells; Veterinary Science
• ISSN: 2297-1769; 2297-1769
• DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.851743

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 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 among different animal species.