Abstract
A human-porcine reassortant strain, RVA/Human-wt/ZMB/UFS-NGS-MRC-DPRU4723/2014/G5P[6], was identified in a sample collected in 2014 from an unvaccinated 12 month old male hospitalised for gastroenteritis in Zambia. We sequenced and characterised the complete genome of this strain which presented the constellation: G5-P[6]-I1-R1-C1-M1-A8-N1-T1-E1-H1. The genotype A8 is often observed in porcine strains. Phylogenetic analyses showed that VP6, VP7, NSP2, NSP4, and NSP5 genes were closely related to cognate gene sequences of porcine strains (e.g., RVA/Pig-wt/CHN/DZ-2/2013/G5P[X] for VP7) from the NCBI database, while VP1, VP3, VP4, and NSP3 were closely related to porcine-like human strains (e.g., RVA/Human-wt/CHN/E931/2008/G4P[6] for VP1, and VP3). On the other hand, the origin of the VP2 was not clear from our analyses, as it was not only close to both porcine (e.g., RVA/Pig-tc/CHN/SWU-1C/2018/G9P[13]) and porcine-like human strains (e.g., RVA/Human-wt/LKA/R1207/2009/G4P[6]) but also to three human strains (e.g., RVA/Human-wt/USA/1476/1974/G1P[8]). The VP7 gene was located in lineage II that comprised only porcine strains, which suggests the occurrence of independent porcine-to-human reassortment events. The study strain may have collectively been derived through interspecies transmission, or through reassortment event(s) involving strains of porcine and porcine-like human origin. The results of this study underline the importance of whole-genome characterisation of rotavirus strains and provide insights into interspecies transmissions from porcine to humans.
Highlights
Group A rotaviruses (RVA), of the family Reoviridae, are the number one viral pathogens causing severe diarrhoea in children below five years of age [1]
This study identified the complete genome of a reassortant porcine-like human strain, G5P[6], that showed the genotype constellation G5-P[6]-I1-R1-C1-M1-A8-N1-T1-E1-H1, which is commonly found in porcine and porcine-like human rotavirus strains [19]
Considering it has been established that strains with amino acid identities greater than 89% belong to the same P genotype [76], our findings show that RVA/Human-wt/ZMB/University of the Free State-Next Generation Sequencing (UFS-NGS)-MRC-DPRU4723/2014/G5P[6] belongs to the genotype P[6]
Summary
Group A rotaviruses (RVA), of the family Reoviridae, are the number one viral pathogens causing severe diarrhoea in children below five years of age [1]. In 2016, an estimated 128,000 deaths in children below five years were due to RVA infections, 90% of which occurred in developing countries [2,3]. RVA are the primary cause of acute gastroenteritis in new-born piglets [4]. Rotaviruses have a distinctive morphology which comprises a nonenveloped, three-layered icosahedral protein shell. The rotavirus genome within the protein shell comprises 11 segments of double-stranded (dsRNA) that encode six structural viral proteins (VP1 to VP4, VP6, and VP7) and five or six nonstructural proteins (NSP1 to NSP5/6) [1]. A binary classification system is used to distinguish
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