Identification of two novel papillomaviruses in belugas

IntroductionPapillomaviruses (PVs) can cause hyperplasia in the skin and mucous membranes of humans, mammals, and non-mammalian animals, and are a significant risk factor for cervical and genital cancers.MethodsUsing next-generation sequencing (NGS), we identified two novel strains of papillomavirus...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in Microbiology
Main Authors: Youyou Li, Meifang Xiao, Yun Zhang, Zihan Li, Shijie Bai, Haoxiang Su, Ruoyan Peng, Gaoyu Wang, Xiaoyuan Hu, Xinran Song, Xin Li, Chuanning Tang, Gang Lu, Feifei Yin, Peijun Zhang, Jiang Du
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023
Subjects:
diversity
novel PVs
evolution
beluga whale
next-generation sequencing
Microbiology
QR1-502
Beluga
Beluga whale
Beluga*
Delphinapterus leucas
Killer Whale
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1165839
https://doaj.org/article/d9c4b71849804bd5bed0f2a0a3c16474
Description
Summary:IntroductionPapillomaviruses (PVs) can cause hyperplasia in the skin and mucous membranes of humans, mammals, and non-mammalian animals, and are a significant risk factor for cervical and genital cancers.MethodsUsing next-generation sequencing (NGS), we identified two novel strains of papillomavirus, PV-HMU-1 and PV-HMU-2, in swabs taken from belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) at Polar Ocean Parks in Qingdao and Dalian.ResultsWe amplified the complete genomes of both strains and screened ten belugas and one false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) for the late gene (L1) to determine the infection rate. In Qingdao, 50% of the two sampled belugas were infected with PV-HMU-1, while the false killer whale was negative. In Dalian, 71% of the eight sampled belugas were infected with PV-HMU-2. In their L1 genes, PV-HMU-1 and PV-HMU-2 showed 64.99 and 68.12% amino acid identity, respectively, with other members of Papillomaviridae. Phylogenetic analysis of combinatorial amino acid sequences revealed that PV-HMU-1 and PV-HMU-2 clustered with other known dolphin PVs but formed distinct branches. PVs carried by belugas were proposed as novel species under Firstpapillomavirinae.ConclusionThe discovery of these two novel PVs enhances our understanding of the genetic diversity of papillomaviruses and their impact on the beluga population.

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