Abstract :
[en] Herpesviruses have mainly co-evolved with
their hosts for millions of years. However, bovine herpesvirus
1 (BoHV1) and related ruminant alphaherpesviruses
have been reported to cross the species barrier. Bubaline
herpesvirus 1 (BuHV1) is an alphaherpesvirus closely
related to BoHV1 and BoHV5. According to the serological
cross-relationships between ruminant alphaherpesviruses,
several surveys have studied the occurrence of
BoHV1-related virus infection in wild and domestic
ruminant species. Recent studies in Argentina showed an
increase in serological prevalence against BoHV1 related
viruses in water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) population.
The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of
related ruminant alphaherpesvirus in the Argentinean water
buffalo population. BuHV1 was successfully isolated from
5 out of 225 buffaloes analyzed. One isolate was obtained
from nasal secretions, and the others were from vaginal
swabs. The buffaloes belonged to four different farms
located in northeastern Argentina. The isolates were characterized
as alphaherpesvirus by direct immunofluorescence
using FITC-anti-BoHV1 IgG. Restriction analysis
performed with BamHI and BstEII on the complete genome
showed differences between the isolates and those from
BoHV1 and BoHV5 subtypes. Phylogenetic analysis on
both UL27 and US6 showed similarity in tree topology.
While three of the isolates grouped together with sequences
of BoHV5, two other isolates clustered separately. Genetic
analysis of eight concatenated sequences from all isolates
and references strains showed high nucleotide sequence identity between BuHV1 and BoHV5. While three of the
isolates clustered together with the BoHV5 reference
strain, the last two isolates were closely related to an
Australian BuHV1 strain. To our knowledge, this is the first
report on the isolation and molecular characterization of
BuHV1 in South America. Phylogenetic analysis suggested
that two different BuHV1 lineages circulate in the Argentinean
water buffalo population.
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