Abstract
BackgroundPorcine circovirus 3 is a newly described circovirus circulating worldwide. PCV3 may play an etiologic role in different pig diseases. Two different genotypes of PCV3 were described, PCV3a and PCV3b. In order to analyse whether PCV3 is also present in wild boars, animals living in and near Berlin were studied. The animals had been analysed previously and were found to form two genetically distinct and geographically coherent clusters.MethodsTo detect PCV3 in wild boars, a PCR was performed, to analyse the virus in detail, parts of the sequence of the capsid protein were sequenced. In addition, a screening for PCV1 and PCV2 was performed using PCR.ResultsFor the first time, PCV3 was detected in German wild boars, with 50% of the animals infected in one genetic cluster, and 23% in the second cluster. In both populations which were divided in the years of division of Berlin, PCV3b was detected, in one case also PCV3a was detected. In some animals, co-infections with PCV1 and PCV2 or triple infections were detected.ConclusionThe data show a high prevalence of PCV3 and co-infections with PCV1 and PCV2 in German wild boars. The finding of PCV3 in both clusters suggests that the virus was introduced into the animal populations before Berlin was divided. Furthermore, the methods used will be indispensable for screening for circoviruses in pigs genetically modified for xenotransplantation.
Highlights
Porcine circovirus 3 is a newly described circovirus circulating worldwide
Detection of PCV3 in Berlin wild boars Based on the analysis of 13 microsatellite loci, samples could be grouped into two genetic clusters: Animals living in the Grunewald forest, in the former Western part of Berlin, belonged to the Bayesian Analysis of Population Structure (BAPS) cluster 1, while animals in the other regions and mainly in Brandenburg belonged to the BAPS cluster 2 [26] (Fig. 1)
Nine of the ten viruses belonged to the subtype PCV3b according to the classification by Fux et al [22] based on the specific amino acids in position 24, 27 and 77 of the ORF2 protein (Table 3), one virus, from wild boar 20 of the Grunewald cluster, belonged to the subtype PCV3a having amino acid lysine (K) instead of arginine (R) in position 27 of the ORF2 protein
Summary
Porcine circovirus 3 is a newly described circovirus circulating worldwide. PCV3 may play an etiologic role in different pig diseases. Circoviruses are the smallest known replicating viruses, they are characterised by a circular single-stranded DNA genome with less than 2000 nucleotides (nt) and non-enveloped icosahedral virions, 14 to 17 nm in diameter Members of this family are constituted by 60 capsid protein subunits organised in a dodecahedral pentamer clustered unit [1]. Three species of circoviruses infect pigs: Porcine circovirus 1 (PCV1) was identified in a cell culture and it has not been associated with disease, PCV2 was identified in pigs with postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) [2]. In Swedish pigs, 70% of the PCV3-positive animals were positive for TTSuV1 and TTSuV2, 50% for porcine bocavirus (PBoV) [19]
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