Domestic Dog Origin of Canine Distemper Virus in Free-ranging Wolves in Portugal as Revealed by Hemagglutinin Gene Characterization

Abstract

Serologic evidence for canine distemper virus (CDV) has been described in grey wolves but, to our knowledge, virus strains circulating in wolves have not been characterized genetically. The emergence of CDV in several non-dog hosts has been associated with amino acid substitutions at sites 530 and 549 of the hemagglutinin (H) protein. We sequenced the H gene of wild-type canine distemper virus obtained from two free-ranging Iberian wolves (Canis lupus signatus) and from one domestic dog (Canis familiaris). More differences were found between the two wolf sequences than between one of the wolves (wolf 75) and the dog. The latter two had a very high nucleotide similarity resulting in identical H gene amino acid sequences. Possible explanations include geographic and especially temporal proximity of the CDV obtained from wolf 75 and the domestic dog, taken in 2007-2008, as opposed to that from wolf 3 taken more distantly in 1998. Analysis of the deduced amino acids of the viral hemagglutinin revealed a glycine (G) and a tyrosine (Y) at amino acid positions 530 and 549, respectively, of the partial signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM)-receptor binding region which is typically found in viral strains obtained from domestic dogs. This suggests that the CDV found in these wolves resulted from transmission events from local domestic dogs rather than from wildlife species.

Concomitance and interactions of pathogens in the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus)

“…As suggested for other endangered wild canid species ( Pedersen et al 2007), and even wolf (Almberg et al 2009;Müller et al 2011), the presence of domestic (especially dogs) and…”

Cross-species transmission of canine distemper virus—an update

“…Affected members of the genus Canis include Australian dingos ( Canis dingo ) [27], coyotes ( Canis latrans ) [28], [29], black-backed jackals ( Canis mesomelas ) [30], golden jackals ( Canis aureus ) [31], Canadian wolves ( Canis lupus ) [32], American gray wolves ( Canis lupus ) [33], Mexican wolves ( Canis lupus baileyi ) [34], Iberian wolves ( Canis lupus ) [35], and Apennine wolves ( Canis lupus ) [36]. Phylogenetic analyses suggest a CDV spillover from domestic dogs to free-ranging jackals and wolves [30], [35]. Referring to this, sequencing of CDV from Apennine wolves in Italy identified a strain belonging to the Arctic lineage, known to circulate in European dog populations [36].…”

The Fusion Protein Signal-Peptide-Coding Region of Canine Distemper Virus: A Useful Tool for Phylogenetic Reconstruction and Lineage Identification

“…The H gene can be more difficult to amplify directly from field samples because of its larger size (1824 bp) [17], [23]–[25], and its transcription level is proportionately lower in comparison to the genes located in the 3′ terminal region of the genome [1].…”