title: Phylogenetic analysis of the full genome of rabbit hepatitis E virus (rbHEV) and molecular biologic study on the possibility of cross species transmission of rbHEV.
abstract: Rabbit HEV strains were isolated in China from farmed rabbits, which may be a reservoir of a novel genotype of HEV. However, there is little information regarding host range and zoonotic potential of rabbit HEV. A previous study from this group identified 25 specific nucleotide positions as possibly being involved in specifying the host range of HEV and/or in determining the severity of hepatitis E disease, whereas this previous analysis did not extend to the new rabbit HEVs. Consequently the complete genome of the rabbit HEV strain ch-bj-n1 was amplified as overlapping fragments using a combination of reverse-transcription-nested polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends. The resulting sequence together with two other rabbit HEVs were compared with 91 other HEV isolates representative of genotypes 1-4. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the novel rabbit HEV strain should be classified into a new HEV genotype which has a closer evolutionary relationship with genotype 3 than genotypes 1, 2 and 4, with 20 of the 25 specific nucleotide positions identified as being present in rabbit HEV genome. Alpha-helix, hydrophilicity, and surface probability plots together with antigenic index analysis of the ORF2 protein were all undertaken to investigate the antigenicity of rabbit HEV. The alpha-helix plot and antigenicity index of the rabbit ORF2 protein was nearly identical to that of genotype 1 HEV isolates from human. Furthermore, 20 possible host range determinants in rabbit HEV were identical to those isolates from zoonotic groups, which may suggest a potential possibility of cross species transmission of rabbit HEV.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hepatology, The 81st Hospital of PLA, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Jiabao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.forename: Hongwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qiuning
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Bu
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Maorong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yunhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.forename: Xiaojuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yonghong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhuang
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D016679:Genome, Viral; D005838:Genotype; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000235:genetics / Q000635:transmission* / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology*; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D011817:Rabbits; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D014764:Viral Proteins