Molecular characterisation of parvoviruses from domestic cats reveals emergence of newer variants in India

Abstract

Objectives The present study was undertaken to characterise the viral polypeptide 2 (VP2) gene of parvovirus from domestic cats in India. Methods The faecal samples from diarrhoeic/healthy domestic cats were collected from different geographical regions of India for screening by PCR assay followed by sequence analysis of the VP2 gene. Results Canine parvovirus (CPV)/feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) infections were found in 12 (11.3%) of 106 faecal samples tested. Two new CPV-2a (297Ala and Asn426) and three FPV strains were identified by VP2 gene analysis. Several unique and existing amino acid mutations were found, suggesting continuous evolution and emergence of newer variants. The phylogenetic analysis of the CPV sequences revealed that the two new CPV-2a strains from Mumbai (MC8) and Puducherry (P15) were clustered together in a single clade but had evolved independently and were ancestrally related to Chinese CPV-2a isolates. The FPV sequences (T-C-6 and T-C-1) from Thrissur, Kerala, formed a different clade (FPV clade) and were closely related to each other and had an ancestral relationship with an FPV isolate from the USA. Another FPV isolate from Goa (GC1) was positioned in the same clade but had evolved independently. Conclusions and relevance Detection of CPV in both diarrhoeic/healthy cats and the occurrence of FPV infection in a vaccinated cat provide new insights into parvovirus infections in cats in India.

Phylogenetic, Evolutionary and Structural Analysis of Canine Parvovirus (CPV-2) Antigenic Variants Circulating in Colombia

“…To understand the evolutionary importance of the mutations found in CPV-2a and CPV-2b variants, an analysis was performed to determine the positive selection sites (Supplementary Table S1). Our results confirmed for CPV-2b, that sites 324 and 440 have a strong positive selection, as previously reported in Asian CPV-2 variants [37,38], which are related to the Colombian CPV-2b variant. In the case of CPV-2a, the positive selection sites were 297 and 324.…”

“…Both the CPV-2a and the CPV-2b variant found in our study present the 324Ile mutation (Table 2; Supplementary Figure S2). This change has been previously reported in cats infected with CPV-2a [38], evidencing that it is an important amino acid in determining host range. Additionally, it has been recently shown that this amino acid residue is close to the virus-receptor interaction domain and that few structural changes are required in CPV-2 to be able to adapt and interact with TfR receptors from different species [34].…”

Genetic characterization of parvoviruses in domestic cats in Henan province, China

“…Feline panleukopenia virus and CPV infection of vaccinated cats and dogs have been reported and the viruses have been isolated from diarrhoeic animals (Decaro et al., ; Mukhopadhyay et al., ). To gain a better understanding of the importance of cats as a potential source of genetic diversity for parvoviruses, parvovirus strains detected in cats with gastroenteritis signs were analysed.…”

Emerging Parvoviruses in Domestic Cats

“…Subsequently, CPV variants were retrieved from cats with FPL-like disease in Italy, Germany, USA, Japan, India, Portugal, and Spain [24,47,52,53,55,56,[58][59][60][61]70,71] Interestingly, as cats are susceptible to both CPV variants and FPV, superinfection and co-infection with multiple Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 strains may occur, potentially facilitating the recombination and high genetic heterogeneity of these viruses. Indeed, the detection of mixed FPV/CPV infections in cats, associated or not with clinical signs, emphasizes the possible role of cats as a source of new variants of parvoviruses, with concrete problems for the implementation of prophylaxis [55,[59][60][61].…”