Identification of novel canine rabies virus clades in the Middle East and North Africa.
Four novel phylogenetic clades of canine rabies virus (RABV) variants have been identified in the Middle East and North Africa. The three novel Middle Eastern clades comprise RABV isolates from the borders between Israel and neighbouring countries. The North African clade (Africa 4) comprises four RABV isolates from Egypt and one from Israel. We characterized various RABV lineages antigenically by using a panel of monoclonal antibodies to the nucleoprotein (N) and phylogenetically by analysis of entire N gene sequences. The estimated mean substitution rate for the N gene alignment (2.7x10(-4) substitutions per site per year) is comparable with previous estimates for RABV. The application of a molecular clock indicates the emergence of current canine RABV diversity to have occurred at about the same time (approx. 1870) in the Middle East and Europe, following divergence from established lineages in Africa and Asia.
David
Dan
D
Rabies Laboratory, Pathology Division, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel.
Hughes
Gareth J
GJ
Laboratory for Clinical and Molecular Virology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 1QH, UK.
Yakobson
Boris A
BA
Rabies Laboratory, Pathology Division, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel.
Davidson
Irit
I
Division of Avian Diseases, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel.
Un
Hikmat
H
Etlik Central Veterinary Control and Research Institute, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey.
Aylan
Orhan
O
Etlik Central Veterinary Control and Research Institute, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey.
Kuzmin
Ivan V
IV
Rabies Unit, Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
Rupprecht
Charles E
CE
Rabies Unit, Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
D000352:Africa, Northern; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D004285:Dogs; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005843:Geography; D008877:Middle East; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D011818:Rabies / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012703:Serotyping
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D012367:RNA, Viral; C099601:nucleocapsid protein, Rabies virus