title: Identification and genomic characterization of a novel rat bocavirus from brown rats in China.
abstract: Despite recent discoveries of novel animal bocaparvoviruses, current understandings on the diversity and evolution of bocaparvoviruses are still limited. We report the identification and genome characterization of a novel bocaparvovirus, rat bocaparvovirus (RBoV), in brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in China. RBoV was detected in 11.5%, 2.4%, 16.2% and 0.3% of alimentary, respiratory, spleen and kidney samples respectively, of 636 brown rats by PCR, but not in samples of other rodent species, suggesting that brown rats are the primary reservoir of RBoV. Six RBoV genomes sequenced from three brown rats revealed the presence of three ORFs, characteristic of bocaparvoviruses. Phylogenetic analysis showed that RBoV was distantly related to other bocaparvoviruses, forming a distinct cluster within the genus, with ≤55.5% nucleotide identities to the genome of ungulate bocaparvovirus 3, supporting its classification as a novel bocaparvovirus species. RBoV possessed a putative second exon encoding the C-terminal region of NS1 and conserved RNA splicing signals, similar to human bocaparvoviruses and canine bocaparvovirus. In contrast to human, feline and canine bocaparvoviruses which demonstrates inter/intra-host viral diversity, partial VP1/VP2 sequences of 49 RBoV strains demonstrated little inter-host genetic diversity, suggesting a single genetic group. Although the pathogenicity of RBoV remains to be determined, its presence in different host tissues suggests wide tissue tropism. RBoV represents the first bocaparvovirus in rodents with genome sequenced, which extends our knowledge on the host range of bocaparvoviruses. Further studies are required to better understand the epidemiology, genetic diversity and pathogenicity of bocaparvoviruses in different rodent populations.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Hong Kong, China; Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Carol Yu Centre for Infection, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Susanna K P
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Hazel C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Yeung
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Kenneth S M
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Carol S F
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Piao
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Ming-Chi
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Yuen
authors.affiliation: Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Hong Kong, China; Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Carol Yu Centre for Infection, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Bo-Jian
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Hong Kong, China; Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Carol Yu Centre for Infection, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: pcywoo@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Patrick C Y
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Hong Kong, China; Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Carol Yu Centre for Infection, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: kyyuen@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Kwok-Yung
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Yuen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D052660:Bocavirus / Q000235:genetics*; D002681:China; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D016679:Genome, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D010322:Parvoviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology*; D022821:RNA Splice Sites / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D022821:RNA Splice Sites
keywords: Bocaparvovirus; China; Genome; Novel; Rat