Phylogenetic Relationship Analysis of the Complete Genomes of Porcine Circovirus Type 2( PCV2) Strains Isolated from Hainan Province

[ Objective] This study aimed to investigate the molecular characteristics of porcine circovirus type 2 （PCV2） strains isolated from Hainan Province. [ Method] The complete genome of PCV2 was amplified from PMWS-suspected samples by PCR for sequence analysis. [ Result] A total of eight PCV2 strains were isolated and identified. All the eight isolates belonged to genotype PCV2b, among which seven isolates belonged to subgenotype PCV2b-1 C, and one isolate be- longed to subgenotype PCV2b-IA/1B. ORF2 gene of PCV2 isolates from Hainan Province was 705 bp in length, encoding 234 amino acids. Antigenic epitopes of Cap protein exhibited certain changes. Nucleotide sequences and deduced amino acid sequences of ORF2 gene shared 95.3% -99.7% and 93.6% - 100% simi- larities among eight PCV2 isolates from Hainan Province, respectively. Moreover, nucleotide sequences and deduced amino acid sequences of ORF2 gene of PCV2 isolates from Hainan Province shared 91.0% -99.9% and 91.0% -99.6% similarities with other PCV2 strain isolated from China （AY682994, AF381175, JX945577, JX682407, AY180397 ）, respectively; nucleotide sequences and deduced amino acid sequences of ORF2 gene of PCV2 isolates from Hainan Province shared 90.0% - 97.0% and 88.0% -97.9% similarities with PCV2 isolates from other countries （ NC_005148, JQ994268, KJ187306, AF201307, AF454546, AY＂/Sd020）, respectively; nucleotide sequences and deduced amino acid sequences of ORF2 gene of PCV2 isolates from Hainan Province shared 98.2% -100% and 94.9% -100% similarities with vaccine strain SH, respectively; nucleotide sequences and deduced amino acid sequences of ORF2 gene of PCV2 isolates from Hainan Province shared 90.6% -91.7% and 89.7% - 91.0% similarities with vaccine strain LG, respectively. [ Conclusion] This study provided theoretical hasis for the prevention and control of PCV2 and selection of vaccine strains in Hainan Province.

Development of a reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction-based assay for broad coverage detection of African and Asian Zika virus lineages

The Zika virus(ZIKV) is an arbovirus that has spread rapidly worldwide within recent times. There is accumulating evidence that associates ZIKV infections with Guillain-Barré Syndrome(GBS) and microcephaly in humans. The ZIKV is genetically diverse and can be separated into Asian and African lineages. A rapid, sensitive, and specific assay is needed for the detection of ZIKV across various pandemic regions. So far, the available primers and probes do not cover the genetic diversity and geographic distribution of all ZIKV strains. To this end, we have developed a one-step quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR) assay based on conserved sequences in the ZIKV envelope(E) gene. The detection limit of the assay was determined to be five RNA transcript copies and 2.94 × 10^(–3) 50% tissue culture infectious doses(TCID50) of live ZIKV per reaction. The assay was highly specific and able to detect five different ZIKV strains covering the Asian and African lineages without nonspecific amplification, when tested against other flaviviruses. The assay was also successful in testing for ZIKV in clinical samples. Our assay represents an improvement over the current methods available for the detection ZIKV and would be valuable as a diagnostic tool in various pandemic regions.