Genome sequence of bubaline alphaherpesvirus 1 (BuHV1) isolated in Australia in 1972

Abstract

Bubaline alphaherpesvirus 1 (BuHV1) is a member of the family Herpesviridae, subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae, genus Varicellovirus. To date, no full genome sequence of BuHV has been published. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of bubaline alphaherpesvirus 1 (BuHV1) strain b6 (BuHV1-b6), isolated from a water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in 1972 in Australia. The virus was multiplied in MDBK cells, and the DNA was extracted and subjected to high-throughput sequencing. The reads were aligned and combined into a single genome sequence, with bovine alphaherpesvirus 5 (BoHV5) strain SV507/99 (accession number NC005261) as a reference. The BuHV1-b6 genome is a linear double-stranded DNA molecule, 137,452 bp long, with a GC content of 76.8%. The genome consists of two unique sequences: a long, or UL, sequence (103,818 bp) and a short, or US, sequence (9,586 bp), with the latter being flanked by inverted IR and TR elements of 12,024 bp each. The arrangement is typical of herpesvirus genomes of the D-type. The overall sequence has a 92.2% similarity at the nucleotide level to the reference BoHV5 strain. Our report provides a significant landmark in the history of herpesviruses, represented by the genome sequence of this 44-year-old virus isolate.

Molecular characterization and virulence of an alphaherpesvirus isolated from a BoHV1 gB-seropositive and gE-seronegative Italian buffalo

“…Phylogenetic tree based on gB and gD gene sequences clustered this strain with BuHV1, and the highest homology was found with the prototype strain b6, isolated in early 1970s in Australia from a buffalo. BuHV1 strain IT08M134 was more closely related to BoHV-5 than to BoHV1, as previously reported for other BuHV1 strains (De Carlo et al, 2004;Thiry et al, 2007;Scheffer et al, 2017). In order to replicate previous studies, sequencing of another DNA tract was done by primers IB1 and IB3, which in bibliography are reported as specific for gI gene (Santurde et al, 1996;De Carlo et al, 2004).…”

An ELISA to Detect Antibodies to Bovine Alphaherpesviruses 1 and 5 and Bubaline Alphaherpesvirus 1 in Cattle Sera

“…MW829288.1) [ 23 ], BoAHV-5c ISO97/95 [ 20 ] and BuAHV-1 b6 (Genbank access no. NC_043054.1) [ 10 ]. The viruses were multiplied in MDBK cells and titrated [ 21 ].…”

“…At the time of writing of this article, there are 51 complete genomes of BoAHV-1, 6 of BoAHV-5, and 1 BuAHV-1 available at Genbank NCBI. The degree of identity between the three virus types, both at the nucleotide and amino acid levels, is remarkable; BoAHV-1 and BoAHV-5 share a mean overall identity of up to 88% at the nucleotide/amino acid level, whereas BoAHV-5 and BuAHV-1 share a greater than 95% nucleotide/amino acid identity [ 10 ]. The antigenic similarity is also intense, which makes the differentiation between these three virus types so cumbersome [ 11 , 12 ].…”