Identification and genome analysis of a novel picornavirus from captive belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in China

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Wang, Gaoyu, Huang, Yi, Zhang, Weijia, Peng, Ruoyan, Luo, Jun, Liu, Sisi, Bai, Shijie, Hu, Xiaoyuan, Wu, Zhiqiang, Yang, Fan, Shen, Shu, Zhang, Yun, Tang, Chuanning, Cui, Xiuji, Niu, Lina, Lu, Gang, Li, Songhai, Deng, Fei, Zhang, Peijun, Du, Jiang, Yin, Feifei
• Other Authors: Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China, Key Research and Development Plan of Hainan Province, Hainan talent development project, Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Scientific and Technological Program of Strategic Priority in Chinese Academy of Sciences, Scientific Research Foundation of the Higher Education Institutions of Hainan Province, Research project of Hainan academician innovation platform, Major Science and Technology Program of Hainan Province
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2021
• Subjects: Multidisciplinary; Beluga*; Delphinapterus leucas
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-00605-y; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-00605-y.pdf; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-00605-y

Abstract The discovery of new viruses is important for predicting their potential threats to the health of humans and other animals. A novel picornavirus was identified from oral, throat, and anal swab samples collected from belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas ), from Dalian Sun Asia Tourism Holding Co., China, between January and December 2018, using a metagenomics approach. The genome of this novel PicoV-HMU-1 strain was 8197 nucleotides (nt) in length, with a open reading frame (from 1091 to 8074 nt) that encoded a polyprotein precursor of 2328 amino acids. Moreover, the genomic length and GC content of PicoV-HMU-1 were within the ranges found in other picornaviruses, and the genome organization was also similar. Nevertheless, PicoV-HMU-1 had a lower amino acid identity and distinct host species compared with other members of the Picornaviridae family. Phylogenetic trees were constructed based on the P1 and 3D amino acid sequences of PicoV-HMU-1 along with representative members of the Picornaviridae family, which showed that PicoV-HMU-1 was related to unclassified bat picornaviruses groups. These findings suggest that the PicoV-HMU-1 strain represents a potentially novel genus of picornavirus. These data can enhance our understanding of the picornavirus genetic diversity and evolution.