TL;DR: An unbiased survey of viruses in the feces of intensely farmed animals revealed frequent coinfections with a highly diverse set of viruses providing favorable conditions for viral recombination.
Abstract: Swine are an important source of proteins worldwide but are subject to frequent viral outbreaks and numerous infections capable of infecting humans. Modern farming conditions may also increase viral transmission and potential zoonotic spread. We describe here the metagenomics-derived virome in the feces of 24 healthy and 12 diarrheic piglets on a high-density farm. An average of 4.2 different mammalian viruses were shed by healthy piglets, reflecting a high level of asymptomatic infections. Diarrheic pigs shed an average of 5.4 different mammalian viruses. Ninety-nine percent of the viral sequences were related to the RNA virus families Picornaviridae, Astroviridae, Coronaviridae, and Caliciviridae, while 1% were related to the small DNA virus families Circoviridae, and Parvoviridae. Porcine RNA viruses identified, in order of decreasing number of sequence reads, consisted of kobuviruses, astroviruses, enteroviruses, sapoviruses, sapeloviruses, coronaviruses, bocaviruses, and teschoviruses. The near-full genomes of multiple novel species of porcine astroviruses and bocaviruses were generated and phylogenetically analyzed. Multiple small circular DNA genomes encoding replicase proteins plus two highly divergent members of the Picornavirales order were also characterized. The possible origin of these viral genomes from pig-infecting protozoans and nematodes, based on closest sequence similarities, is discussed. In summary, an unbiased survey of viruses in the feces of intensely farmed animals revealed frequent coinfections with a highly diverse set of viruses providing favorable conditions for viral recombination. Viral surveys of animals can readily document the circulation of known and new viruses, facilitating the detection of emerging viruses and prospective evaluation of their pathogenic and zoonotic potentials.
TL;DR: A dendrogram based on 3Dpol proteins indicated that Aichi virus is genetically distinct from the known six genera of picornaviruses including entero-, rhino-, cardio-, aphtho-, and hepatovirus and echovirus 22.
Abstract: The complete nucleotide sequence of a novel enteric virus, Aichi virus, associated with nonbacterial acute gastroenteritis in humans was determined. The Aichi virus genome proved to be a single-stranded positive-sense RNA molecule with 8,251 bases excluding a poly(A) tail; it contains a large open reading frame with 7,302 nucleotides that encodes a potential polyprotein precursor of 2,433 amino acids. The genome contains a 5′ nontranslated region (NTR) with 712 bases and a 3′ NTR with 240 bases followed by a poly(A) tail. The structure of the genome, VPg–5′ NTR–leader protein–structural proteins–nonstructural proteins–3′ NTR–poly(A), was found to be typical of a picornavirus. The VP0-VP3 and VP3-VP1 cleavage sites were determined to be Q-H and Q-T, respectively, by N-terminal amino acid sequence analyses using purified virion proteins. Possible cleavage sites, Q-G, Q-A, and Q-S, which cleave P2 and P3 polyproteins were found to be similar to those of picornaviruses. A dendrogram based on 3Dpol proteins indicated that Aichi virus is genetically distinct from the known six genera of picornaviruses including entero-, rhino-, cardio-, aphtho-, and hepatovirus and echovirus 22. Considering this together with other properties of the virus (T. Yamashita, S. Kobayashi, K. Sakae, S. Nakata, S. Chiba, Y. Ishihara, and S. Isomura, J. Infect. Dis. 164:954–957, 1991), we propose that Aichi virus be regarded as a new genus of the family Picornaviridae.
TL;DR: The discovery of human klassevirus 1 is reported, a member of a novel picornavirus genus, in stool from two infants from Northern California, which is believed to be a significant cause of human infection.
Abstract: Diarrhea kills 2 million children worldwide each year, yet an etiological agent is not found in approximately 30–50% of cases. Picornaviral genera such as enterovirus, kobuvirus, cosavirus, parechovirus, hepatovirus, teschovirus, and cardiovirus have all been found in human and animal diarrhea. Modern technologies, especially deep sequencing, allow rapid, high-throughput screening of clinical samples such as stool for new infectious agents associated with human disease. A pool of 141 pediatric gastroenteritis samples that were previously found to be negative for known diarrheal viruses was subjected to pyrosequencing. From a total of 937,935 sequence reads, a collection of 849 reads distantly related to Aichi virus were assembled and found to comprise 75% of a novel picornavirus genome. The complete genome was subsequently cloned and found to share 52.3% nucleotide pairwise identity and 38.9% amino acid identity to Aichi virus. The low level of sequence identity suggests a novel picornavirus genus which we have designated klassevirus. Blinded screening of 751 stool specimens from both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals revealed a second positive case of klassevirus infection, which was subsequently found to be from the index case's 11-month old twin. We report the discovery of human klassevirus 1, a member of a novel picornavirus genus, in stool from two infants from Northern California. Further characterization and epidemiological studies will be required to establish whether klasseviruses are significant causes of human infection.
TL;DR: Results indicated that U-1 strain, suspected to be a contaminant from calf sera, is a new species of the genus Kobuvirus, now termed bovine kobuvirus.
Abstract: A cytopathic agent was isolated using Vero cells from the culture medium of HeLa cells that had been used for more than 30 years in our laboratory. This agent, termed U-1 strain, was serially passed in Vero cells with distinct CPE. Particles of U-1 strain negatively stained with phosphotungstic acid exhibited a distinct surface that resembled Aichi virus. The RNA genome of U-1 strain comprises 8374 nt, with a genome organization analogous to that of picornaviruses. Possible cleavage sites of the large ORF, which encoded a leader protein prior to the capsid protein region, were assigned following amino acid alignment with Aichi virus. The virus sequence had 33 and 75 % amino acid identity with the Aichi virus VP1 and 3D regions, respectively, but no more than 23 and 36 % with those of the prototype strains of other Picornaviridae. The dendrogram based on the P1, P2 and P3 proteins indicated that U-1 strain is genetically included in the genus Kobuvirus but is distinct from Aichi virus. Of 72 cattle sera, 43 (59·7 %) were positive for neutralizing antibody against U-1 strain at a titre of 1 : 8 or more. However, sera from 190 humans, 242 monkeys, 139 pigs, 5 horses, 22 dogs and 9 cats did not neutralize U-1 strain at a 1 : 4 dilution. RNA corresponding to U-1 strain was detected in 12 (16·7 %) of 72 faecal samples from cattle by RT-PCR. These results indicated that U-1 strain, suspected to be a contaminant from calf sera, is a new species of the genus Kobuvirus, now termed bovine kobuvirus.
TL;DR: Results indicated that RT-PCR can be a useful tool to detect Aichi virus in stool samples and that a sequence analysis of PCR products can be employed to identify the prevalent strain in each incident.
Abstract: Aichi viruses isolated in Vero cells from seven patients in five gastroenteritis outbreaks in Japan, five Japanese returning from Southeast Asian countries, and five local children in Pakistan with gastroenteritis were examined for differentiation based on their reactivities with a monoclonal antibody to a standard strain (A846/88) and a reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) of three genomic regions. The RNA sequences were determined for 519 bases of these 17 isolates at the putative junction between the C terminus of 3C and the N terminus of 3D. The analyses revealed an approximately 90% homology between these isolates, which were then divided into two groups: group 1 (genotype A) included six isolates from four outbreaks and one isolate from a traveler and group 2 (genotype B) included one isolate from the other outbreak, four isolates from returning travelers, and all of the isolates from the Pakistani children. Based on the isolate sequences, a primer pair and a biotin-labeled probe were designed for amplification and detection of 223 bases at the 3C-3D junction of Aichi virus RNA in fecal specimens. The Aichi virus RNA was detected in 54 (55%) of 99 fecal specimens from the patients in 12 (32%) of 37 outbreaks of gastroenteritis in Japan. Of the 12 outbreaks, 11 were suspected to be due to genotype A. These results indicated that RT-PCR can be a useful tool to detect Aichi virus in stool samples and that a sequence analysis of PCR products can be employed to identify the prevalent strain in each incident.