Genetic heterogeneity and variation in viral load during equid herpesvirus-2 infection of foals.
Abstract: Equine herpesvirus-2 (EHV-2) infection has been implicated as a cause of a variety of clinical disorders in young horses, including upper respiratory tract disease, generalized malaise, fever, pharyngeal lymphoid hyperplasia, and lymphadenopathy. Considerable sequence heterogeneity has been demonstrated previously among EHV-2 strains, and individual horses can be concurrently infected with more than one virus strain. In this study, the temporal variation of the viral load and genomic diversity of the glycoprotein B (gB) gene of EHV-2 in the nasal secretions of a cohort of foals was characterized during the first 5 months of life. The viral load in nasal secretions of foals peaked when the foals were approximately 3 months old, and there was notable genetic heterogeneity of the gB gene, both among foals and within individuals. Furthermore, there was evidence of positive selection of EHV-2 variants with unique amino acid sequences at specific sites of gB.
Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2010-07-07 PubMed ID: 20655670DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2010.06.031Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research study focuses on the variation in viral load and its genetic diversity during equine herpesvirus-2 (EHV-2) infection of foals in their early months of life.
Introduction to EHV-2 and Its Impact on Foals
- The research focuses on Equine herpesvirus-2 (EHV-2) infection, often associated with a variety of clinical disorders in young horses. The common symptoms of EHV-2 include upper respiratory tract disease, generalized malaise, fever, pharyngeal lymphoid hyperplasia, and lymphadenopathy.
- Previous research has established considerable sequence heterogeneity among EHV-2 strains, suggesting that a single horse could be infected with multiple strains of the virus simultaneously.
Objective of the Research
- The aim of this study was to characterize the temporal variation of the viral load and the genomic diversity of the glycoprotein B (gB) gene of EHV-2 in nasal secretions of foals during their first 5 months of life.
Findings and Observations
- It was observed that the viral load in foals’ nasal secretions peaked when they were around 3 months old. This provides a specific timeframe to focus on for prevention and treatment efforts.
- Additionally, they noted a significant genetic heterogeneity of the gB gene, both among different foals and within individual foals.
- This genetic diversity is significant because it could affect the development of effective treatments or vaccines, which need to account for the variety of viral strains.
Conclusion and Future Implications
- Moreover, the research found evidence of positive selection of EHV-2 variants with unique amino acid sequences at specific sites of gB.
- This suggests some strains could have a competitive advantage which enables them to propagate more effectively within the host, providing potential areas of focus for future research in antiviral strategies or treatment development.
Cite This Article
APA
Brault SA, Bird BH, Balasuriya UB, MacLachlan NJ.
(2010).
Genetic heterogeneity and variation in viral load during equid herpesvirus-2 infection of foals.
Vet Microbiol, 147(3-4), 253-261.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2010.06.031 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Equine Viral Disease Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Animals
- Genetic Heterogeneity
- Genetic Variation
- Herpesviridae Infections / veterinary
- Herpesviridae Infections / virology
- Horse Diseases / virology
- Horses
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Phylogeny
- Rhadinovirus / classification
- Rhadinovirus / genetics
- Sequence Alignment
- Viral Envelope Proteins / genetics
- Viral Load / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 13 times.- Onasanya AE, El-Hage C, Diaz-Méndez A, Vaz PK, Legione AR, Browning GF, Devlin JM, Hartley CA. Whole genome sequence analysis of equid gammaherpesvirus -2 field isolates reveals high levels of genomic diversity and recombination.. BMC Genomics 2022 Aug 30;23(1):622.
- Stasiak K, Dunowska M, Rola J. Kinetics of the Equid Herpesvirus 2 and 5 Infections among Mares and Foals from Three Polish National Studs.. Viruses 2022 Mar 29;14(4).
- Temesgen T, Getachew Y, Negussie H. Molecular Identification of Equine Herpesvirus 1, 2, and 5 in Equids with Signs of Respiratory Disease in Central Ethiopia.. Vet Med (Auckl) 2021;12:337-345.
- El-Hage C, Mekuria Z, Dynon K, Hartley C, McBride K, Gilkerson J. Association of Equine Herpesvirus 5 with Mild Respiratory Disease in a Survey of EHV1, -2, -4 and -5 in 407 Australian Horses.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Nov 30;11(12).
- Stasiak K, Dunowska M, Trewick S, Rola J. Genetic Variation in the Glycoprotein B Sequence of Equid Herpesvirus 5 among Horses of Various Breeds at Polish National Studs.. Pathogens 2021 Mar 9;10(3).
- Thorsteinsdóttir L, Jónsdóttir S, Stefánsdóttir SB, Andrésdóttir V, Wagner B, Marti E, Torsteinsdóttir S, Svansson V. The effect of maternal immunity on the equine gammaherpesvirus type 2 and 5 viral load and antibody response.. PLoS One 2019;14(6):e0218576.
- Marenzoni ML, Stefanetti V, Danzetta ML, Timoney PJ. Gammaherpesvirus infections in equids: a review.. Vet Med (Auckl) 2015;6:91-101.
- Stasiak K, Dunowska M, Rola J. Prevalence and sequence analysis of equid herpesviruses from the respiratory tract of Polish horses.. Virol J 2018 Jul 11;15(1):106.
- Doubli-Bounoua N, Richard EA, Léon A, Pitel PH, Pronost S, Fortier G. Multiple molecular detection of respiratory viruses and associated signs of airway inflammation in racehorses.. Virol J 2016 Nov 29;13(1):197.
- Thorsteinsdóttir L, Torsteinsdóttir S, Svansson V. Establishment and characterization of fetal equine kidney and lung cells with extended lifespan. Susceptibility to equine gammaherpesvirus infection and transfection efficiency.. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim 2016 Sep;52(8):872-7.
- Hue ES, Fortier CI, Laurent AM, Quesnelle YF, Fortier GD, Legrand LJ, Pronost SL. Development and Validation of a Quantitative PCR Method for Equid Herpesvirus-2 Diagnostics in Respiratory Fluids.. J Vis Exp 2016 Mar 17;(109).
- Houtsma A, Bedenice D, Pusterla N, Pugliese B, Mapes S, Hoffman AM, Paxson J, Rozanski E, Mukherjee J, Wigley M, Mazan MR. Association between inflammatory airway disease of horses and exposure to respiratory viruses: a case control study.. Multidiscip Respir Med 2015;10:33.
- Wargo AR, Kell AM, Scott RJ, Thorgaard GH, Kurath G. Analysis of host genetic diversity and viral entry as sources of between-host variation in viral load.. Virus Res 2012 Apr;165(1):71-80.
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