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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, October 2004, p. 4610-4614, Vol. 42, No. 10
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.10.4610-4614.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Laboratory of Clinical Virology, Kyushu Research Station, National Institute of Animal Health, Chuzan, Kagoshima,1 Central Livestock Hygiene Service Center, Kaizu-machi, Isahaya, Nagasaki, Japan2
Received 11 April 2004/ Returned for modification 19 May 2004/ Accepted 8 June 2004
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The orbivirus genome contains 10 double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) segments in a double-layered capsid. These dsRNA segments encode seven structural viral proteins (VP1 to VP7) and four nonstructural proteins (NS1 to NS3 and NS3A) (20). The outer layer is composed of the two major proteins, VP2 and VP5. The VP2 protein encoded by RNA segment 2 is a major neutralizing antigen and has a serotype-specific determinant (4). The VP7 protein encoded by RNA segment 7 is incorporated in the viral inner layer and is a serogroup-specific antigen (19). The sequence analysis of these two segments may reveal the antigenic variation and evolutionary change of the virus.
In this study, we examined the Japanese isolates of Palyam serogroup viruses to determine the genome sequences of segments 2 and 7 and to compare them phylogenetically with Australian and African isolates of the Palyam viruses.
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TABLE 1. Details of Palyam serogroup viruses used in this study
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RT-PCR of segment 7 and sequencing. Total RNA was extracted from virus culture fluid using High Pure Viral RNA kit (Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, Ind.). A portion of segment 7, corresponding to nucleotide positions 258 to 523 of CHUV segment 7, was amplified via reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) with primers S7-1 (5'-ATCTCAAACCTATAGACCATC-3') and S7-2 (5'-GAACTATTGTTCCTTGCTGGA-3'). RT-PCR was conducted as described previously (21). PCR products were purified with the QIAquick PCR Purification kit (QIAGEN, Valencia, Calif.), and direct sequencing was carried out in both directions with the PCR primers using the ABI PRISM Big Dye Terminator Cycle Sequencing kit and the ABI PRISM 3100 automated sequencer (Applied Biosystems).
Molecular cloning of segment 2 and sequencing. RT-PCR was performed with the Titan One Tube RT-PCR kit (Roche Diagnostics) containing a proofreading polymerase. The RT-PCR mixture consisted of 0.2 mM (each) deoxynucleoside triphosphates, 5 mM dithiothreitol, 1x RT-PCR buffer, 1.5 mM MgCl2, and an enzyme mixture in a total reaction volume of 50 µl. Briefly, the purified viral RNA segment 2 and both strand primers ChuzanS211F (5'-CGCAATGGATGAATTTTCGCTTTGT-3'; nucleotides 11 to 35) and ChuzanS2R (5'-GTAAGTGTGTCCCGCAACACG-3'; nucleotides 3035 to 3055) for CHUV as well as both strand primers PAL2F (5'-GAATTCGTTAAAATTCCGCAATGGATG-3') and PAL2R (5'-GTAAGTGTGTCCCGCAACACGTAGT-3') for D'Aguilar virus (DAGV) were incubated at 94°C for 5 min and were quenched on ice prior to the addition of the reaction mixture. The RT was conducted at 48°C for 60 min. PCR amplification was achieved with initial denaturation (94°C for 5 min) followed by 35 cycles of denaturation (95°C, 30 s), annealing (30 s at 55°C or 47°C, depending on the primers), and elongation (68°C, 2 min), with a final extension at 68°C for 7 min. The purified PCR products were ligated into pGEM-T Easy Vector systems (Promega, Madison, Wis.). The recombinant plasmids were transfected into competent Escherichia coli JM 109 cells. The positive clones were confirmed by PCR using M13 forward and reverse primers. A plasmid containing the viral genome was obtained with a commercial plasmid extraction kit (Promega) according to the manufacturer's protocol. The 5'- and 3'-terminal ends of DAGV segment 2 nucleotide sequences were determined using the 5' RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) kit (Invitrogen Corp., Carlsbad, Calif.). Briefly, first-strand cDNA was made using SuperScript II RT (Invitrogen) and the primer DAGVSP1 (5'-CGTCATACATTCCCATCTCC-3') for the 5' end and the primer DAGSP1/3Term (5'-AGCTGGATAGGGGCGAATTG-3') for the 3' end. The reaction was carried out for 60 min at 42°C followed by 15 min at 70°C. Purified cDNA was tailed with dCTP and the terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase (TdT), and then it was amplified by PCR with primers DAGVSP2R (5'-GAATAGGCTTGGGATTATGG-3') and DAGSP2/3TermF (5'-GATGATTCCTATCAAGAGTCC-3'), respectively, and the 5' RACE Abridged Anchor Primer (Invitrogen) under the conditions recommended by the manufacturer. Amplified products were cloned into the pGEM-T Easy Vector. Three individual clones were sequenced in both directions with the Thermo Sequenase Cycle Sequencing kit (U.S. Biochemicals, Cleveland, Ohio) on a model 4200 automated DNA sequencer (Li-Cor Inc., Lincoln, Nebr.). Sequences were determined using universal primers (M13 Forward, 5'-CACGACGTTGTAAAACGAC-3'; M13 Reverse, 5'-GGATAACAATTTCACAGG-3') and the segment 2-specific primers ChuzanS2479F (5'-AGTGGATCCAACGTATAGTG-3', nucleotides 479 to 498), ChuzanS22560R (5'-TCCGTTAGAAGTGTTTTCTCC-3', nucleotides 2541 to 2560), DAGVSP2 (5'-GAATAGGCTTGGGATTATGG-3', nucleotides 1090 to 2010), DAGVS23TERM (5'-CATTTGATGAGACAGAGTGG-3', nucleotides 1686 to 1705), DAGVS2n3Term (5'-CTTCCTCTACCTTAATTCTG-3', nucleotides 1738 to 1757), and DAGVSP2/3Term (5'-GGACTCTTGATAGGAATCATC-3', nucleotides 2686 to 2706).
Sequence and phylogenetic analysis. Nucleotide sequences were assembled and analyzed with the GENETYX software (Software Development, Tokyo, Japan). The nucleotide sequences of the open reading frame (ORF) region were aligned with the CLUSTAL W program (17). The aligned sequences were used to construct the phylogenetic trees by the neighbor-joining method (13), and the distances were corrected by using Kimura's two-parameter method (6). The reliability of the branching orders was estimated by bootstrapping (1,000 samples). The phylogenetic trees were drawn with TreeView software (12).
Production of bovine antisera. Bovine immune sera against isolate 31 of CHUV and strain B8112 of DAGV were obtained from bovine infected with each virus. Each virus was inoculated intravenously, and sera were collected 4 to 6 weeks after inoculation. Convalescent bovine serum was collected from sentinel cattle naturally infected with isolate KSB-29/E/01.
Cross-neutralization test. Antisera were used to investigate the antigenic relationship among CHUV, DAGV, and the most recent isolate, KSB-29/E/01, by a neutralization test. The neutralization test was performed on 96-well microtiter plates on established hamster lung (HmLu-1) cells. Serially twofold-diluted serum was mixed with an equal volume of medium containing 100 50% tissue culture infectious doses of virus. The mixtures were incubated at 37°C for 60 min, and then HmLu-1 cells suspended in serum-free medium (GIT; Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd., Osaka, Japan) were added to each well. After incubation at 37°C for 7 days in a humidified 5% CO2 atmosphere, the antibody titer was expressed as a reciprocal of the highest dilution of serum that completely inhibited the cytopathic effect.
Nucleotide sequence accession numbers. The sequence data determined in this study were deposited in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank database under the accession numbers AB177625 to AB177639, and previously reported nucleotide sequences of CHUV, DAGV, and Australian and Zimbabwean Palyam serogroup virus segments 2 and 7 were retrieved from the database. The GenBank accession numbers are shown in Table 1.
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The deduced amino acid sequences of these 19 isolates showed 100% identity, except for African isolate 1726/76, which showed 98.6% identity to other viruses.
In phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide sequence of segment 7, these 19 viruses were divided into three clusters, which consisted of Japanese and Taiwanese isolates, Australian isolates, and African isolates, respectively (Fig. 1).
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FIG. 1. Phylogenetic tree based on the nucleotide sequence of 224 bp of segment 7 of the Palyam serogroup viruses from Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and Zimbabwe. Segment 7 of North American Bluetongue virus serotype 17 was used as the outgroup to root the tree. Numbers above the internal nodes indicate the bootstrap values obtained with 1,000 replications.
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A comparison of the nucleotide sequences among the Palyam serogroup viruses (Table 2) isolates 31, FO88-2, FO90-8, and ON-3/E/98 showed 96.2 to 99.8% identity to each other and 96.4 to 99.9% identity to strain K-47 of CHUV, whereas the identities of these viruses with Japanese isolates KY-115, ON 91-5, ON-1/E/00, and KSB-29/E/01 ranged from 52.5 to 53.0%. A low percentage of identity was seen in the comparison of these viruses with the prototype strain B8112 of DAGV, 52.4 to 52.7%, and strain 792/76 of NYAV, 52.2 to 52.9%. In contrast, the identities of isolates KY-115, ON 91-5, ON-1/E/00, and KSB-29/E/01 ranged from 95.0 and 99.5% to each other and from 91.9 to 92.9% to the prototype strain B8112 of DAGV and strain 792/76 of NYAV.
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TABLE 2. Percentage identities of segment 2 of nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences among Palyam serogroup viruses
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The phylogenetic analysis of the ORF of VP2 revealed that these viruses could be divided into two major clusters (Fig. 2). The cluster typified by prototype strain K-47 of CHUV contained isolates 31, FO88-2, FO90-8, and ON-3/E/98. The other isolates, KY-115, ON 91-5, ON-1/E/00, and KSB-29/E/01, were included in a cluster together with DAGV strain B8112 and NYAV strain 792/76, while the cluster was subdivided into three minor groups of Japanese isolates, DAGV, and NYAV, respectively.
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FIG. 2. Phylogenetic tree based on the nucleotide sequence of the segment 2 ORF regions of the Palyam serogroup viruses from Japan, Australia, and Zimbabwe. Segment 2 of North American Bluetongue virus serotype 11 was used as the outgroup to root the tree. Numbers above the internal nodes indicate the bootstrap values obtained with 1,000 replications.
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TABLE 3. Antigenic comparison among CHUV and DAGV strains by cross-neutralization test
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The overall identities of nucleotide sequences of segment 7 among Palyam serogroup viruses were greater than 85%, and the deduced amino acid sequence was very similar or identical in all the viruses examined. The phylogenetic analysis of viral RNA segment 7 revealed that the viruses were divided in different clusters according to the region where the viruses were isolated. The Zimbabwean isolates, 792/73, 1726/76, and 1070/78, which were classified to distinct serotypes Nyabira, Gweru, and Marondera, respectively, were categorized in the same cluster. Similarly, the Australian isolates, B8812 of DAGV, CSIRO 11 of CSIRO Village virus, CSIRO 82 of Marrakai virus, and CSIRO 58 of Bunyip Creek virus, were included in the same cluster together with another isolate, DPP 66. All the viruses isolated in Japan were categorized in the same cluster with two Taiwanese isolates. Interestingly, the nucleotide sequences of Japanese isolates taken over 15 years were highly conserved, more than 95%, and the deduced amino acid sequences were identical in all the isolates. These results suggested that the nucleotide sequence of segment 7 of Palyam serogroup viruses were conserved among the viruses in the epidemic area even if the serotypes were different, and they exhibited the topotype of viruses. Furthermore, Japanese and Taiwanese isolates of Palyam serogroup viruses seemed to be derived from a common genetic pool.
Segment 2 of viral RNA encodes VP2 viral protein, which is a serotype-specific antigen (4). Therefore, cDNA of the full genome of segment 2 was cloned and sequenced to investigate its genetic variation among the Japanese isolates and its genetic relationship with other Palyam group viruses. In a comparison of nucleotide identities among the isolates, nine isolates were divided into two distinct groups by the length of genome and by the nucleotide identities. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Japanese isolates were divided into two clusters, of which four isolates and prototype strain K-47 of CHUV were contained in one cluster and four isolates were contained in another cluster with DAGV and NYAV. The identities of deduced amino acid sequences between the two groups of viruses differed by more than 59%, while identity was greater than 94% among the viruses in the same group.
The differences in amino acid sequence between the two groups indicated that the viruses might exhibit a new antigenic character in a serum neutralization test. The recent isolate KSB-29/E/01 was selected to compare its antigenicity with those of CHUV and DAGV by a cross-neutralization test. The results of the cross-neutralization test demonstrated that KSB-29/E/01 was antigenically close to DAGV. However, the virus was neutralized by antiserum to CHUV. This antigenic change of recent isolates of Palyam serogroup viruses might result from a reassortment event in segment 2 between viruses belonging to CHUV and DAGV. Furthermore, the fact that the viruses were isolated in the southern part of Japan indicates that the viruses might invade Japan from the area where both virus groups are epidemic.
In the period from the first isolation of CHUV in 1985 until 2001, a total of 10 Palyam serogroup viruses were isolated in Japan. During this time, the viruses had not been isolated continuously for 2 years until 2001, and isolation and seroconversion of Palyam serogroup viruses had not been observed between 1992 and 1996. These viruses are regarded as exotic in Japan. It is possible that several different serotypes of Palyam serogroup viruses have been cocirculated around East Asia and that some of these viruses have repeatedly made incursions into Japan. The coexistence of several viruses in an area might generate reassortant viruses. KSB-29/E/01, which showed unique antigenicity and was considered to be reassortant, might have emerged under such conditions. Although segment 2 of KSB-29/E/01 had high identity with DAGV and less identity with CHUV, a partial cross-neutralization reaction was observed between KSB-29/E/01 and CHUV. Segment 6, encoding VP5, may be involved in the unique antigenicity of KSB-29/E/01, because segment 6 as well as segment 2 is correlated with serotype specificity of orbiviruses.
In conclusion, our data indicated that an antigenic shift occurred in Palyam serogroup orbiviruses as a result of reassortment of segment 2. Genetic reassortment appears to have been the main cause of genetic and antigenic diversity of Palyam serogroup orbiviruses. The reassortment event may have contributed to the alteration of viral pathogenicity as well as antigenicity. It is important to understand genetic and antigenic variation of the viruses circulating in Japan and neighboring areas of East Asia and to develop molecular diagnostic tools and a more effective vaccine for the monitoring and prevention of Palyam serogroup orbivirus infection.
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