title: Characterization of novel circovirus DNAs associated with wasting syndromes in pigs.
abstract: Porcine circovirus (PCV) was initially recognized as a contaminant of continuous pig kidney cell lines and was not thought to be pathogenic. Antibodies reactive to the cell culture isolate of PCV (PCV PK-15) are prevalent in the swine population worldwide. Recently, PCV PK-15-like antigen and nucleic acid were demonstrated in lesions associated with wasting syndromes in pigs in North America and Europe. Monoclonal antibodies raised to circoviruses isolated from pigs with wasting syndromes highlighted differences between these circoviruses and the PCV PK-15 cell culture isolate. This has led to speculation that a new pathogenic PCV may have emerged in the swine populations of several countries. We report the cloning and characterization of novel circovirus DNAs purified from virus isolates made from tissues of North American and European pigs with wasting syndromes. These North American and European circoviruses form a closely related group at the nucleotide sequence level (> 96% intra-group nucleotide sequence identity) but exhibit < 80% nucleotide sequence identity with the PCV PK-15 cell culture isolate. This report provides evidence for a new type of possibly pathogenic PCV. We propose that these new circoviruses should be referred to as PCV2 as opposed to the original PK-15 cell culture isolate, which should be referred to as PCV1.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Science, The Queen's University of Belfast, UK.
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Meehan
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: McNeilly
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Jewhurst
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Hassard
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Haines
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Allan
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D018173:Circoviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D017925:Circovirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005060:Europe; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009656:North America; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D014774:Virulence; D019282:Wasting Syndrome / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral