Detection and molecular characterization of porcine group C rotaviruses in South Korea.
Group C rotaviruses (GCRVs) cause acute diarrhea in humans and animals worldwide and the evidence for a possible zoonotic role of GCRVs has been recently provided. However, there is little evidence of porcine GCRV infections or of their genetic diversity in South Korea. We examined 137 diarrheic fecal specimens from 55 farms collected from six provinces. RT-PCR utilizing primer pairs specific for the GCRV VP6 gene detected GCRV-positive reactions in 36 (26.2%) diarrheic fecal samples. Of these, 17 samples (12.4%) tested positive for porcine GCRVs alone and 19 samples (13.8%) were also positive for other pathogens. Other enteric pathogens except for GCRV were detected in 64 feces samples (46.7%) and no enteric pathogens were evident in 37 feces samples (27.0%). Phylogenetic and sequence homology analyses of GCRV partial VP6 gene between 23 Korean and other known porcine GCRVs demonstrated that Korean strains belonged to the porcine lineage. Furthermore, one Korean porcine strain shared the highest nucleotide (89.7-89.0%) and deduced amino acid sequence (92.9-93.9%) identities with bovine GCRV strains and was placed in the bovine GCRV lineage indicative of bovine origin. In conclusion, porcine GCRV infections are widespread in piglets with diarrhea in South Korea. The infecting porcine GCRVs mostly belong to the porcine lineage with the exception of one bovine-like GCRV, which possibly originated from bovine GCRV due to interspecies transmission.
Biotherapy Human Resources Center, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, South Korea.
Young-Ju
YJ
Jeong
Sang-Ik
SI
Park
Myra
M
Hosmillo
Dong-Jun
DJ
Shin
Young-Hyun
YH
Chun
Hyun-Jeong
HJ
Kim
Hyung-Jun
HJ
Kwon
Shien-Young
SY
Kang
Sang-Kyu
SK
Woo
Su-Jin
SJ
Park
Gye-Yeop
GY
Kim
Mun-Il
MI
Kang
Kyoung-Oh
KO
Cho
D000818:Animals; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012621:Seasons; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*