title: Genetic characterization of a new astrovirus detected in dogs suffering from diarrhoea.
abstract: Astroviruses have been described in several animals species frequently associated with diarrhoea, especially in young animals. In dogs, astrovirus-like particles have been observed sporadically and very little is known about their epidemiology and characteristics. In this paper, we describe the detection of astrovirus-like particles in symptomatic puppies. Furthermore, for the first time in this species, the presumptive identification made by electron microscopy was confirmed by genetic analysis of the viral RNA conducted directly on the clinical specimens. Genetic sequences of ORF2 (2443 nt), encoding for the capsid protein, and partial sequence of ORF1b (346 nt), encoding for the viral polymerase, identified the viruses as member of the family Astroviridae. The phylogenetic analysis clearly clustered canine astroviruses in the genus Mamastrovirus. Relative closest similarities were revealed with a cluster comprising human, porcine and feline astroviruses, based on the ORF2 sequences available. Based on the species definition for astroviruses and on the data obtained in this study, we suggest a new species of astrovirus - canine astrovirus, CaAstV - to be included in the genus Mamastrovirus.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Research and Development Department, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Toffan
authors.forename: Christine Monceyron
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Jonassen
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Battisti
authors.forename: Eliana
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schiavon
authors.forename: Tone
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kofstad
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Capua
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cattoli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019200:Astroviridae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019350:Astroviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D004285:Dogs / Q000821:virology; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA