Feline fecal virome reveals novel and prevalent enteric viruses

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2014

Authors

Terry Fei Fan Ng (Author) Other; Joao Rodrigo Mesquita (Author) Other; Maria Sao J Jose Nascimento (Author) FFUP; Nikola O Kondov (Author) Other; Walt Wong (Author) Other; Gabor Reuter (Author) Other; Nick J Knowles (Author) Other; Everardo Vega (Author) Other; Mathew D Esona (Author) Other; Xutao T Deng (Author) Other; Jan Vinje (Author) Other; Eric Delwart (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Veterinary Microbiology

Vol. 171

Pages: 102-111

ISSN: 0378-1135

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 45 Citations

Scopus - 8 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Agrarian Sciences > Veterinary science

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-009-CTP

DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2014.04.005

Abstract (EN): Humans keep more than 80 million cats worldwide, ensuring frequent exposure to their viruses. Despite such interactions the enteric virome of cats remains poorly understood. We analyzed a fecal sample from a single healthy cat from Portugal using viral metagenomics and detected five eukaryotic viral genomes. These viruses included a novel picornavirus (proposed genus "Sakobuvirus") and bocavirus (feline bocavirus 2), a variant of feline astrovirus 2 and sequence fragments of a highly divergent feline rotavirus and picobirnavirus. Feline sakobuvirus A represents the prototype species of a proposed new genus in the Picornaviridae family, distantly related to human salivirus and kobuvirus. Feline astroviruses (mamastrovirus 2) are the closest known relatives of the classic human astroviruses (mamastrovirus 1), suggestive of past cross-species transmission. Presence of these viruses by PCR among Portuguese cats was detected in 13% (rotavirus), 7% (astrovirus), 6% (bocavirus), 4% (sakobuvirus), and 4% (picobirnavirus) of 55 feline fecal samples. Co-infections were frequent with 40% (4/10) of infected cats shedding more than one of these five viruses. Our study provides an initial description of the feline fecal virome indicating a high level of asymptomatic infections. Availability of the genome sequences of these viruses will facilitate future tropism and feline disease association studies.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 10