Brazilian Vaccinia virus strains show genetic polymorphism at the ati gene

Abstract

Nucleotide sequence comparison of the internal region of the ati gene of members of the Orthopoxvirus genera revealed that this gene is variable among different species, although within members of the same species it is considered to be well conserved. Previous studies indicated that there is genetic variability in the ati gene among some Brazilian Vaccinia virus strains. To further investigate this variability, we performed molecular analysis of the internal region of the ati gene of eight Brazilian Vaccinia virus strains. While the internal region of this gene in one strain was similar to the Western Reserve strain, four strains presented two blocks of deletions in the analyzed region, and the ati gene was almost entirely deleted from three other strains. These findings demonstrate that there is genetic polymorphism within the ati gene among different Brazilian Vaccinia virus strains.

Virulence in Murine Model Shows the Existence of Two Distinct Populations of Brazilian Vaccinia virus Strains

“…Thus, analyzing these results, there is no obligatory correlation between the host species where the virus was isolated and the biological characteristics of VACV strains studied here, which is in agreement with previous phylogenetic studies [36], [39].…”

“…Previous studies had demonstrated that although GP1V and GP2V were isolated from cows in two neighbor rural properties during the same bovine vaccinia outbreak, they were genetically divergent [7], [18], [20], [39] Our study confirmed that the divergence between GP1V and GP2V also occurs at the biological phenotypic level. While GP2V did not cause weight loss or death in BALB/c, GP1V caused weight loss that culminated in the death of infected mice.…”

Serro 2 Virus Highlights the Fundamental Genomic and Biological Features of a Natural Vaccinia Virus Infecting Humans

“…Another protein found to be highly immunogenic among OPXV is the ATI protein which is the major protein present in A-type inclusion bodies [51]. The S2V genome retains the “ ati ” gene and the coding region showed unique substitutions and insertions and deletions (INDELs) that are typically found in only one group of BVV (i.e., Passatempo, GP2, and Araçatuba viruses) as described by Leite et al [52]. The VAVC-IOC clone B388 was used here for comparisons genes with known relevance to immune response.…”

One More Piece in the VACV Ecological Puzzle: Could Peridomestic Rodents Be the Link between Wildlife and Bovine Vaccinia Outbreaks in Brazil?

“…Over the last decade, several VACV strains have been isolated from these outbreaks, also known as bovine vaccinia (BV) disease, and biological and molecular studies have shown a high degree of polymorphism among these isolates [15]. During BV outbreaks, cows exhibit lesions on the teats and udders, ranging from roseolar erythema to papules, vesicles, pustules, and crusts [16], [17].…”