Molecular characterization of Korean rabies virus isolates.
- Author:
Dong Kun YANG
1
;
Young Nam PARK
;
Gyeong Soo HONG
;
Hee Kyung KANG
;
Yoon I OH
;
Soo Dong CHO
;
Jae Young SONG
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords: characterization; genotype I; molecular epidemiology; rabies virus
- MeSH: Animals; Base Sequence; Cattle; Cattle Diseases/epidemiology/virology; China; Dog Diseases/epidemiology/virology; Dogs; Glycoproteins/genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; Nucleoproteins/genetics; Phylogeny; Rabies/*veterinary; Rabies virus/classification/*genetics/pathogenicity; Raccoon Dogs/*virology; Republic of Korea; Russia; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
- From:Journal of Veterinary Science 2011;12(1):57-63
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: The nucleoprotein (N) and glycoprotein (G) of 11 Korean rabies virus (RABV) isolates collected from animals diagnosed with rabies between 2008 and 2009 were subjected to molecular and phylogenetic analyses. Six isolates originated from domestic animals (cattle and dogs) and five were obtained from wild free-ranging raccoon dogs. The similarities in the nucleotide sequences of the N gene among all Korean isolates ranged from 98.1 to 99.8%, while those of the G gene ranged from 97.9 to 99.3%. Based on the nucleotide analysis of the N and G genes, the Korean RABV isolates were confirmed as genotype I of Lyssavirus and classified into four distinct subgroups with high similarity. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Korean isolates were most closely related to the non-Korean NeiMeng1025B and 857r strains, which were isolated from rabid raccoon dogs in Eastern China and Russia, respectively. These findings suggest that the Korean RABV isolates originated from a rabid raccoon dog in Northeastern Asia. Genetic analysis of the Korean RABV isolates revealed no substitutions at several antigenic sites, indicating that the isolates circulating in Korea may be pathogenic in several hosts.
