Ji-Ae Lim

Kobuvirus in South Korean black goats

Kobuviruses have been detected in humans and several animal species, including cattle, swine, sheep, canines, mice, and probably bats. While investigating the possibility of Kobuviruses infecting additional animal host species, we detected kobuvirus in three fecal samples from domestic Korean black goats. In a maximum parsimony tree and a Bayesian tree, the 08KG680 strain fell within the bovine kobuvirus lineage, but the 09KG172 and 10KG056 strains did not fall within any of the known animal kobuvirus lineages. Comparative analysis of the partial nucleotide sequences of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene of the 08KG680 strain also revealed high amino acid sequence identity and a close genetic relationship with bovine kobuvirus, but the amino acid sequences of the other two strains had low similarity to those of known kobuvirus isolates from any animal species. The similarity of the sequence of the 08KG680 strains with the bovine kobuvirus indicate that the infectious may have originated from cattle, but the possible source for remaining strains could not be classified.

A novel canine influenza H3N2 virus isolated from cats in an animal shelter.

The interspecies transmission of avian-origin H3N2 canine influenza virus (CIV) to dogs was first reported in 2007. The present study characterized a novel CIV H3N2 isolated from cats in an animal shelter. A comparative analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences of the A/Canine/Korea/CY009/2010(H3N2) (CY009) and A/Feline/Korea/FY028/2010 (H3N2) (FY028) strains isolated from dogs and cats, respectively, in the animal shelter identified point mutations in 18 amino acid positions within eight viral genes. Interestingly, CY009 and FY028 replicated well in specific pathogen-free embryonated chicken eggs and in mice, respectively. Mice infected with the FY028 strain exhibited significant over expression of IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ (p<0.001) at 3 days postinfection. Thus, an emergency monitoring system should be developed to identify influenza mutations that occur during interspecies transmission in companion animals and for continuous public health surveillance.

A novel strain of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in Vietnamese pigs

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) causes severe diarrhea and dehydration in suckling pigs and has caused high rates of death among piglets and substantial economic loss in Vietnam since 2009. To investigate the genotypes of prevailing PEDVs, intestinal and fecal samples from piglets from central and northern Vietnam were collected and analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide sequences of complete spike genes of PEDVs from Vietnam resulted in the identification of two divergent groups. PEDVs (HUA-PED45 and HUA-PED47) belonged to the G2b group, along with Chinese, US, and Korean strains occurring at the end of 2010, in May 2013 and in November 2013, respectively. Six strains from the Quang Tri region were assigned to the G1b group, along with Chinese and US strains. The Vietnamese PEDVs detected in infected piglets had a nationwide distribution and belonged to the G2b and G1b genotypes.

Complete Genome Analysis of Canine Respiratory Coronavirus

ABSTRACT The canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV) K37 strain of the family Coronaviridae, group 2, was isolated in South Korea. Its genome was analyzed by nucleotide sequencing and was determined to have 31,029 bp. The small open reading frames situated between the spike and envelope genes of most of the CRCoV strains (except the CRCoV 4180 strain) were found to encode three nonstructural proteins (4.9 kDa, 2.7 kDa, and 12.8 kDa), while those of bovine coronavirus (BCoV) encode another three nonstructural proteins (4.9 kDa, 4.8 kDa, and 12.7 kDa) and those of a recently isolated bovine respiratory coronavirus (BRCoV) were found to encode only two nonstructural proteins (4.9 kDa and 12.7 kDa). The differences in the genes encoding these small nonstructural proteins may be associated with the emergence of highly similar viruses in different hosts.

Complete Genome Sequences of Classical Swine Fever Virus Strains Isolated from Wild Boars in South Korea

ABSTRACT Classical swine fever is a disease that is devastating the pig industry worldwide. Here, we report the complete genome sequences of two classical swine virus strains (YC11WB and PC11WB), isolated from Korean wild boars in 2011. Both strains belong to subgenotype 2.1b. The complete genome sequences of PC11WB and YC11WB are more similar to that of strain ZJ0801 (isolated in China) than to that of the SW03 strain isolated from domestic pigs in South Korea.

Peptide nucleic acid-based (PNA) array for the antigenic discrimination of canine parvovirus

A novel peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-based array was developed for use in ante-mortem antigenic typing discrimination in dogs with canine parvovirus (CPV). Cyclic benzothiazole-2-sulfonyl PNA monomers were synthesized that recognized GTA (CPV-2) and TAT (CPV-2a, -2b and -2c) at the nt 913-915 positions, and AAT (CPV-2 and CPV-2a), GAT (CPV-2b), and GAA (CPV-2c) at the nt 1276-1278 positions of the VP2 gene. The detection limits for aa 305 and aa 426 of the VP2 proteins belonging to the four CPV antigenic types were determined optically to be 40-2000 DNA copies, and the optimal cut-off fluorescence signaling value was fixed at 5000. The PNA array described here was developed from 135 field dog fecal specimens and had 89.8% (62/69) sensitivity and 90.4% (66/73) specificity compared with a real-time PCR using the TaqMan assay, a gold standard method. This CPV PNA array could be used together with MGB probe assays as an attractive novel tool for ante-mortem antigenic typing discrimination.

Complete Genome Sequence Analysis of Acute and Mild Strains of Classical Swine Fever Virus Subgenotype 3.2

ABSTRACT We report the complete genome sequences of two classical swine fever virus strains (JJ9811 and YI9908). Both belong to subgenotype 3.2. Strain JJ9811 causes mild symptoms and strain YI9908 causes acute symptoms. The sequences were 95.7% homologous at the nucleotide level and 95.6% homologous at the amino acid level.

Antigenic characterization of classical swine fever virus YC11WB isolates from wild boar.

Classical swine fever (CSF), a highly contagious disease that affects domestic pigs and wild boar, has serious economic implications. The present study examined the virulence and transmission of CSF virus strain YC11WB (isolated from a wild boar in 2011) in breeding wild boar. Virulence of strain YC11WB in domestic pigs was also examined. Based on the severe clinical signs and high mortality observed among breeding wild boar, the pathogenicity of strain YC11WB resembled that of typical acute CSF. Surprisingly, in contrast to strain SW03 (isolated from breeding pigs in 2003), strain YC11WB showed both acute and strong virulence in breeding pigs. None of three specific monoclonal antibodies (7F2, 7F83, and 6F65) raised against the B/C domain of the SW03 E2 protein bound to the B/C domain of strain YC11WB due to amino acid mutations (720K→R and 723N→S) in the YC11WB E2 protein. Although strains YC11WB and SW03 belong to subgroup 2.1b, they had different mortality rates in breeding pigs. Thus, if breeding pigs have not developed protective immunity against CSF virus, they may be susceptible to strain YC11WB transmitted by wild boar, resulting in severe economic losses for the pig industry.

Complete genome analysis of three live attenuated Rinderpest virus vaccine strains derived through serial passages in different culture systems.

ABSTRACT The genomes of three South Korean Rinderpest virus vaccine strains (L72, LA77, and LA96) were analyzed in order to investigate their genetic variability. These three vaccine strains were all derived from the same virus strain origin (Fusan) through repeated passages in different culture systems. The full genome length of the three strains was 15,882 nucleotides, and the sequence similarity between the three South Korean RPV strains at the nucleotide level was 98.1 to 98.9%. The genetic distance between Nakamura III, L72, LA77, LA96, and LATC06 and the Kabete strain was greater than that between the Fusan and Kabete strains for the P, V, and C genes. The difference in pathogenicity among these strains might be due to the V gene, which has a positive (>1) selection ratio based on the analysis of synonymous (dS) and nonsynonymous (dN) substitution rates (dN/dS ratio [ω]).