A new HaCV-EBHSV recombinant lagovirus circulating in European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) from Catalonia, Spain
Almeida, Tereza (Universidade do Porto. Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos)
Lopes, Ana M. (Universidade do Porto. CIBIO Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos)
Estruch Morente, Josep (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals)
Rouco, Carlos (Universidad de Sevilla. Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología)
Cavadini, Patrizia (Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna)
Neimanis, Aleksija (National Veterinary Institute. Department of Pathology and Wildlife Diseases)
Gavier-Widén, Dolores (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health)
Le Gall-Reculé, Ghislaine (French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety. Avian and Rabbit Virology, Immunology and Parasitology Unit)
Velarde, Roser (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals)
Abrantes, Joana (Universidade do Porto. Departamento de Biologia. Faculdade de Ciências)

Date:	2024
Abstract:	In 2020/2021, several European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV) outbreaks were recorded in European hares (Lepus europaeus) from Catalonia, Spain. Recombination analysis combined with phylogenetic reconstruction and estimation of genetic distances of the complete coding sequences revealed that 5 strains were recombinants. The recombination breakpoint is located within the non-structural protein 2C-like RNA helicase (nucleotide position ~ 1889). For the genomic fragment upstream of the breakpoint, a non-pathogenic EBHSV-related strain (hare calicivirus, HaCV; GII. 2) was the most closely related sequence; for the rest of the genome, the most similar strains were the European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV) strains recovered from the same 2020/2021 outbreaks, suggesting a recent origin. While the functional impact of the atypical recombination breakpoint remains undetermined, the novel recombinant strain was detected in different European brown hare populations from Catalonia, located 20-100 km apart, and seems to have caused a fatal disease both in juvenile and adult animals, confirming its viability and ability to spread and establish infection. This is the first report of a recombination event involving HaCV and EBHSV and, despite the recombination with a non-pathogenic strain, it appears to be associated with mortality in European brown hares, which warrants close monitoring.
Note:	Altres ajuts: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia CEECIND/01388/2017 i CEECIND/00078/2017
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Molecular evolution ; Virology
Published in:	Scientific reports, Vol. 14 (february 2024) , ISSN 2045-2322

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53201-1
PMID: 38311618

11 p, 1.8 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Research group Wildlife Ecology & Health
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles