Abstract
Canine coronavirus (CCoV) strains with the ability to spread to internal organs, also known as pantropic CCoVs (pCCoVs), have been detected in domestic dogs and wild carnivores. Our study focused on the detection and molecular characterization of pCCoV strains circulating in Italy during the period 2014–2017 in autochthonous dogs, in dogs imported from eastern Europe or illegally imported from an unknown country. Samples from the gut and internal organs of 352 dogs were screened for CCoV; putative pCCoV strains, belonging to subtype CCoV‐IIa, were identified in the internal organs of 35 of the examined dogs. Fifteen pCCoV strains were subjected to sequence and phylogenetic analyses, showing that three strains (98960‐1/2016, 98960‐3/2016, 98960‐4/2016) did not cluster either with Italian or European CCoVs, being more closely related to alphacoronaviruses circulating in Asia with which they displayed a 94%–96% nucleotide identity in partial spike protein gene sequences. The pCCoV‐positive samples were also tested for other canine viruses, showing co‐infections mainly with canine parvovirus.
Highlights
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are viruses that infect a variety of mammals, including humans, and birds
Our study focused on the detection and molecular characterization of pantropic CCoVs (pCCoVs) strains circulating in Italy during the period 2014–2017 in autochthonous dogs, in dogs imported from eastern Europe or illegally imported from an unknown country
Fifteen pCCoV strains were subjected to sequence and phylogenetic analyses, showing that three strains (98960-1/2016, 98960-3/2016, 98960-4/2016) did not cluster either with Italian or European Canine coronavirus (CCoV), being more closely related to alphacoronaviruses circulating in Asia with which they displayed a 94%–96% nucleotide identity in partial spike protein gene sequences
Summary
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are viruses that infect a variety of mammals, including humans, and birds. |2 able to spread to extraintestinal tissues This variant was associated with a fatal disease of dogs, characterized by leukopenia, gastroenteritis and severe lesions in the major organs (Buonavoglia et al, 2006; Chen et al, 2019; Decaro et al, 2008; Pinto et al, 2014), and subsequent studies have proved its impact on canine immune response (Marinaro et al, 2010). Tissues samples of dogs were submitted to molecular detection of the main viral pathogens of dogs, including CCoV (Decaro et al, 2013), CPV (Decaro, Elia, et al, 2005), CAdV-1 and CAdV-2, (Dowgier et al, 2016), canine distemper virus (CDV) (Elia et al, 2006), canid alphaherpesvirus type 1 (CaHV-1) (Decaro et al, 2008) and rotaviruses (Zeng et al, 2008). The PCR products were detected using the TapeStation 2,200 (Agilent Technologies) according to the manufacturer's protocol
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
