Project description:We report a case of enterovirus C105 infection in an 11-year-old girl with lower respiratory tract symptoms that was identified through the Respiratory Virus Surveillance System, which covers 30 sentinel hospitals in all 16 districts of Beijing, China. The presence of this virus strain in China confirmed its geographically wide distribution.
Project description:Like all biological populations, viral populations exist as networks of genotypes connected through mutation. Mapping the topology of these networks and quantifying population dynamics across them is crucial to understanding how populations adapt to changes in their selective environment. The influence of mutational networks is especially profound in viral populations which rapidly explore their mutational neighborhoods via high mutation rates. Using a novel single-cell sequencing method, scRNAseq-Enabled Acquisition of mRNA and Consensus Haplotypes Linking Individual Genotypes and Host Transcriptomes (SEARCHLIGHT), we captured and assembled viral haplotypes from hundreds of individual infected cells to reveal the complexity of viral populations. We obtained these genotypes in parallel with host cell transcriptome information, enabling us to link host cell transcriptional phenotypes to the genetic structures underlying virus adaptation.
Project description:Most enterovirus (EV) infections are subclinical but, occasionally, can cause severe and potentially fatal diseases in humans and animals. Currently, EVs are divided into 12 types (A to L) based on phylogenetic analysis and on their natural hosts. Bovine enterovirus (BEV) is an essential member of the enterovirus belonging to the types E and F that attacks cattle as its natural host and causes clinical disorders in the digestive, respiratory, and reproductive tracts. In 2020, several dairy farms in China experienced cow mortality with acute clinical signs, including fever, and diarrhea. In these cases, GX20-1 and JS20-1 virus strains were isolated and sequenced. Cellular adaptation of these two strains showed efficient replications on Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells and produced a significant cytopathogenic effect (CPE). However, on baby hamster kidney (BHK-21) and Vero cells, viral replication was inefficient and did not produce CPE. As noted in comparative genomics analysis, these two strains showed distant evolutionary relationships with the well-known E1 to E4 and F1 to F4 subtypes of BEV and high sequence identities with the candidate type Enterovirus E5, a novel genotype recently identified based on the genomic data of three strains, including the GX20-1 and JS20-1 strains. This study provides the first evidence of a novel genotype bovine enterovirus infection in Chinese cattle herds, a potential threat to the cattle industry in China. IMPORTANCE Bovine enterovirus (BEV) is a cattle-infecting pathogen. This study is the first report of natural infection of a novel genotype of enterovirus in herds of cattle in China. The homology of the novel enterovirus is far different from the structural protein of other enteroviruses and has different cellular adaptations. This study provides a reference for the biological characteristics and prevalence of the novel enterovirus in Chinese cattle populations.
Project description:To determine the relationship of coxsackievirus A16 (CA16) to prototype CA16-G10, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis of circulating CA16 strains in China. Complex recombinant forms of CA16-related viruses involving multiple human enteroviruses, subgroup A (CA4, CA16, and enterovirus 71), are prevalent among patients with hand, foot, and mouth disease.
Project description:In an epidemiologic investigation of respiratory infections in Italy, October 2008-September 2009, we tested samples from patients for respiratory viruses. Human enterovirus genotype EV-104 (identified in Switzerland) was found in 3 immunocompromised and 2 immunocompetent patients. EV-104 is closely related to human rhinoviruses; thus, both types of viruses should be sought in respiratory syndromes.
Project description:Human enterovirus 68 (EV-D68) is a rarely reported virus that has been linked to respiratory disease. In recent years, reports about EV-D68 infection have markedly increased worldwide. However, the epidemiological features of this emerging infection are not well understood. To evaluate the emerging EV-D68 epidemic, we isolated the circulating viral strain and investigated the seroprevalence of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) in Beijing between 2004 and 2011. We found that the titers of EV-D68 NAbs were generally low in all age groups in sampled populations in 2004 but significantly higher in 2009. From 2007 to 2011, the NAbs against EV-D68 significantly increased over time. These findings indicate that EV-D68 has spread widely in the Chinese population in recent years, although only a limited number of cases were reported.
Project description:Yunnan Province, China is thought to be the original source of biovar Orientalis of Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of the third plague pandemic that has spread globally since the end of the 19th century. Although encompassing a large area of natural plague foci, Y. pestis strains have rarely been found in live rodents during surveillance in Yunnan, and most isolates are from rodent corpses and their fleas. In 2017, 10 Y. pestis strains were isolated from seven live rodents and three fleas in Heqing County (HQ) of Yunnan. These strains were supposed to have low virulence to local rodents Eothenomys miletus and Apodemus chevrieri because the rodents were healthy and no dead animals were found in surrounding areas, as had occurred in previous epizootic disease. We performed microscopic and biochemical examinations of the isolates,and compared their whole-genome sequences and transcriptome with those of 10 high virulence Y. pestis strains that were isolated from the adjacent city (Lijiang). We analyzed the phenotypic, genomic, and transcriptomic characteristics of live rodent isolates. The isolates formed a previously undefined monophyletic branch of Y. pestis that was named 1.IN5. Six SNPs, two indels, and one copy number variation were detected between live rodent isolates and the high virulence neighbors. No obvious functional consequence of these variations was found according to the known annotation information. Among the genes that were differentially expressed between the live rodent isolates and their high virulence neighbors, we detected five iron transfer-related genes that were significantly up-regulated in live rodent isolates compared with high virulence isolates (|log2 (FC) | >1, p.adjust <0.05), indicating these genes may be related to the low-virulence phenotype. The novel genotype of Y. pestis reported here provides further insights into the evolution and spread of plague as well as clues that may help to decipher the virulence mechanism of this notorious pathogen.