title: A distinct CDV genotype causing a major epidemic in Alpine wildlife.
abstract: Canine distemper virus (CDV) infection represents an important conservation threat to many carnivore species and has contributed to the population decline of several wild terrestrial and aquatic mammalian species. Since 2006, the Alpine region of North-Eastern (NE) Italy has been experiencing a severe and widespread outbreak of CDV affecting the wild carnivore population. In this study we performed an extensive phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary analysis of CDV identified during the recent wildlife epidemic in the Alpine region. Our analysis yielded data on the evolutionary dynamics of the Alpine wildlife CDV epidemic and revealed the emergence and spread of a single genetic cluster of CDV. The wide distribution of the novel cluster combined with the identification of a specific amino acid mutation, which is believed to increase the ability of the virus to replicate in a wider host range, raises concerns over the possible implications of the spread of this virus on the conservation of endangered wildlife species.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell'Università, 10, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy.
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Monne
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fusaro
authors.forename: Viviana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Valastro
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Citterio
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dalla Pozza
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Obber
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Trevisiol
authors.forename: Mariapia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cova
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Benedictis
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bregoli
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Capua
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cattoli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002335:Carnivora / Q000821:virology*; D004216:Distemper / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D004217:Distemper Virus, Canine / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D058872:Epidemics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005589:Foxes / Q000821:virology; D005838:Genotype; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D045969:Mustelidae / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral