Characterization of a Porcine Sapelovirus Strain Isolated in China

Abstract

Background: Porcine sapelovirus (PSV) infections have been associated with a wide spectrum of symptoms ranging from asymptomatic infection to clinical signs including diarrhea, pneumonia, reproductive disorders, and polioencephalomyelitis. Although PSV is an important pathogen due to its wide distribution and high prevalence rate, researches on PSV have been relatively few so far.Methods: In this study, we isolated a PSV strain, SHCM2019, from swine faecal specimens from PK15 cells. To investigate the molecular characteristics and pathogenicity of the PSV strain, the genomic sequence of the SHCM2019 strain was analysed, and the clinical manifestations and pathological changes exhibited by inoculated neonatal piglets were observed. Results: Sequencing results showed that the full-length genome of the SHCM2019 strain was 7567 nucleotides in length excluding the 27-nucloetude poly(A) tail. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the virus isolate belongs to PSV and was classified into the China cluster. RNA recombination analysis indicated that there may be a recombination breakpoint upstream of the 3D region in PSVs. Pathogenicity research demonstrated that the virus isolate could cause diarrhoea and pneumonia in piglets. Conclusion: This study presented the isolation of a recombinant PSV strain, SHCM2019 and demonstrated the isolate was pathogenic. Our results may provide a reference for future research investigating of the pathogenic mechanism and evolutionary characteristics of PSV.