title: Molecular characterization of two rare human G8P[14] rotavirus strains, detected in Italy in 2012.
abstract: Since 2007, the Italian Rotavirus Surveillance Program (RotaNet-Italy) has monitored the diversity and distribution of genotypes identified in children hospitalized with rotavirus acute gastroenteritis. We report the genomic characterization of two rare human G8P[14] rotavirus strains, identified in two children hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in the southern Italian region of Apulia during rotavirus strain surveillance in 2012. Both strains showed a G8-P[14]-I2-R2-C2-M2-A11-N2-T6-E2-H3 genomic constellation (DS-1-like genomic background). Phylogenetic analysis of each genome segment revealed a mixed configuration of genes of animal and zoonotic human origin, indicating that genetic reassortment events generated these unusual human strains. Eight out of 11 genes (VP1, VP2, VP3, VP6, VP7, NSP3, NSP4 and NSP5) of the Italian G8P[14] strains exhibited close identity with a Spanish sheep strain, whereas the remaining genes (VP4, NSP1 and NSP2) were more closely related to human strains. The amino acid sequences of the antigenic regions of outer capsid proteins VP4 and VP7 were compared with vaccine and field strains, showing high conservation between the amino acid sequences of Apulia G8P[14] strains and human and animal strains bearing G8 and/or P[14] proteins, and revealing many substitutions with respect to the RotaTeq™ and Rotarix™ vaccine strains. Conversely, the amino acid analysis of the four antigenic sites of VP6 revealed a high degree of conservation between the two Apulia strains and the human and animal strains analyzed. These results reinforce the potential role of interspecies transmission and reassortment in generating novel rotavirus strains that might not be fully contrasted by current vaccines.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Immunobiologicals Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Delogu
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ianiro
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morea
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chironna
authors.affiliation: National Center for Immunobiologicals Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: francomariaruggeri@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Franco M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Ruggeri
mesh_terms: D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007558:Italy; D010802:Phylogeny; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C061332:VP6 protein, Rotavirus; C050779:VP7 protein, Rotavirus; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; C079234:NS35 protein, rotavirus
keywords: G8P[14]; Gastroenteritis; Italy; Rotavirus; Zoonotic transmission