Identification of a contemporary human parechovirus type 1 by VIDISCA and characterisation of its full genome.
BACKGROUND
Enteritis is caused by a spectrum of viruses that is most likely not fully characterised. When testing stool samples by cell culture, virus isolates are sometimes obtained which cannot be typed by current methods. In this study we used VIDISCA, a virus identification method which has not yet been widely applied, on such an untyped virus isolate.


RESULTS
We found a human parechovirus (HPeV) type 1 (strain designation: BNI-788st). Because genomes of contemporary HPeV1 were not available, we determined its complete genome sequence. We found that the novel strain was likely the result of recombination between structural protein genes of an ancestor of contemporary HPeV1 strains and nonstructural protein genes from an unknown ancestor, most closely related to HPeV3. In contrast to the non-structural protein genes of other HPeV prototype strains, the non-structural protein genes of BNI-788st and HPeV3 prototype strains did not co-segregate in bootscan analysis with that of other prototype strains.


CONCLUSIONS
HPeV3 nonstructural protein genes may form a distinct element in a pool of circulating HPeV non-structural protein genes. More research into the complex HPeV evolution is required to connect virus ecology with disease patterns in humans.
de Souza Luna
Luciano Kleber
LK
Clinical Virology Group, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany. lkluna@yahoo.com
Baumgarte
Sigrid
S
Grywna
Klaus
K
Panning
Marcus
M
Drexler
Jan Felix
JF
Drosten
Christian
C
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D020121:5' Untranslated Regions / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006801:Humans; D030061:Parechovirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010850:Picornaviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000821:virology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D020121:5' Untranslated Regions