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Sequence analysis of nucleoprotein gene reveals the co-circulation of lineages and sublineages of rabies virus in herbivorous in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil

  • Veterinary Microbiology - Research Paper
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A Correction to this article was published on 31 March 2020

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Abstract

An unprecedented outbreak of rabies occurred in Rio Grande do Sul state (RS) from 2012 onward, resulting in thousands of bovine deaths, important economic losses, and posing risk to human health. This article describes a genetic analysis of 145 rabies viruses (RABV) recovered from herbivorous from RS between 2012 and 2017, based on partial sequence analysis of the nucleoprotein (N) gene. High nucleotide (nt) identity (95.5 to 100%) and amino acid (aa) similarity (96.7 to 100%) were observed among the analyzed sequences. These sequences displayed a high sequence nt identity/aa similarity with bovine RABV sequences (96.4–97.9%; 98.1–100%, respectively) and vampire bat RABV sequences (96.3–97.5%; 97.8–99.5%). Phylogenetic analyzes based on the N sequence allowed for the segregation of viruses into two distinct clusters. Cluster 1 comprised RABV sequences covering the whole studied period, whereas cluster 2 grouped a lower number of viruses from 2013, 2014, 2015, to 2017. In some cases, viruses obtained from the same region within a short period of time grouped to distinct clusters or sub-clusters, indicating the co-circulation of distinct virus lineages in these outbreaks. The segregation into sub-clusters was also observed for viral sequences obtained from the same region at different times, indicating the involvement of distinct viruses. In summary, partial sequence analyses revealed a high conservation of N protein and the circulation of two lineages and different sublineages of RABV in the region. In addition, our results confirm the suitability of N gene to study the genetic relationships among RABV isolates.

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  • 31 March 2020

    Discussion section, 9th paragraph.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Secretaria da Agricultura, Pecuária e Desenvolvimento Rural do Rio Grande do Sul (SEAPDR/RS) for the leaving period conceded to GLA and for Instituto de Pesquisas Veterinárias Desidério Finamor (IPVDF) for providing some bovine brains and information concerning the viral sequences and to Nilton Rossato and Wilson Hoffmeister, coordinators of the Herbivore Rabies Control Program in Rio Grande do Sul, for their support and encouragement for this study.

Funding

EFF and RW are recipients of CNPq fellowships (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico). This study was founded in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001 and by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) (47337/2014–9).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Av. Roraima, 1000, Hospital Veterinário, prédio 97, sala 126, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, 97105-900, Brazil

    Gisane L. de Almeida & Ananda S. Ries

  2. Secretaria da Agricultura, Pecuária e Desenvolvimento Rural, Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Getúlio Vargas, 1384, Menino Deus, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90150-900, Brazil

    Gisane L. de Almeida, José C. Ferreira & Júlio C. A. Rosa

  3. Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Av. Roraima, 1000, prédio 63A, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, 97105-900, Brazil

    Juliana F. Cargnelutti, Eduardo F. Flores & Rudi Weiblen

  4. Instituto Pasteur, Av. Paulista, 393, Cerqueira César, São Paulo, São Paulo, 01311-000, Brazil

    Helena B. C. R. Batista

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  1. Gisane L. de Almeida
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de Almeida, G.L., Cargnelutti, J.F., Ries, A.S. et al. Sequence analysis of nucleoprotein gene reveals the co-circulation of lineages and sublineages of rabies virus in herbivorous in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. Braz J Microbiol 51, 837–846 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-020-00226-z

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