Abstract
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease is caused by a calicivirus, rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), which is responsible for high mortality in domestic and wild European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). RHDV strains were sequenced from wild European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus algirus) collected in the Azorean island of Pico, Portugal. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the Pico RHDV strains diverge from all of the others described so far, but cluster with the genogroups 1–5 (G1–G5). The genetic distance between the Pico RHDV sequences and each G1, G2 and G3–G5 genogroup (~0.08) is compatible with an RHDV introduction at least 17 years ago. Our results show that in Pico, RHDV is the outcome of an independent evolution from the original RHDV strain that appeared in its European rabbit population. These are the first sequences of RHDV obtained in the subspecies O. c. algirus, outside of its original region, the Iberian Peninsula. Furthermore, we discuss the risk of rabbit translocations from the Azores to the Iberian Peninsula, where the rabbit wild populations are suffering high mortalities.
Highlights
In the Iberian Peninsula, two subspecies of European rabbit are found, O. cuniculus subsp. algirus and O. cuniculus subsp. cuniculus, both fatally susceptible to rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) [1]
Pathogenic strains can be divided into three groups: RHDV, which include older strains of the genogroups, 1–5 (G1–G5) [11]; RHDVa, characterized by a distinct antigenic profile [12]; and RHDV2, a new variant that differs from other pathogenic viral forms by more than 15% [13,14,15,16]
In the RHDV sequences recovered from Pico, a total of seven nucleotide changes were observed, two of which were non-synonymous
Summary
In the Iberian Peninsula, two subspecies of European rabbit are found, O. cuniculus subsp. algirus and O. cuniculus subsp. cuniculus, both fatally susceptible to rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) [1]. In the Iberian Peninsula, two subspecies of European rabbit are found, O. cuniculus subsp. Cuniculus, both fatally susceptible to rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) [1]. Algirus subspecies is restricted to the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands. The genetic diversity of these populations is a subset of the genetic diversity of the Iberian Peninsula populations [3,4,5]. Genetic comparative studies showed that pathogenic and non-pathogenic RHDV strains are genetically independent, with more than 20% of divergence [6,7,8,9,10]. In the wild European rabbit populations from the Iberian Peninsula, all RHDV strains identified before 2011 belonged to G1 [17,18,19].
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