Genomic characterization of canine circovirus associated with fatal disease in dogs in South America

PLoS One. 2019 Jun 25;14(6):e0218735. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218735. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Canine circovirus (CanineCV) was detected, together with canine parvovirus (CPV), in samples from an outbreak of fatal gastroenteritis in dogs in Argentina. We obtained the full-length genome of this recently discovered virus by overlapping PCR, designated strain UBA-Baires. Sequence analysis revealed a highly conserved genome but also showed several unique mutations in amino acids from the capsid protein that have not been previously reported. Phylogenetic analysis shows that this strain is more closely related to European strains than to viruses detected in North America or Asia. Although the pathogenic role of CanineCV in dogs is still unclear, this study highlights the importance of CanineCV as a coinfecting virus in disease development. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the involvement of CanineCV in severe clinical disease in dogs in South America. Our results expand our information on the geographical extent of this virus and contribute to the understanding of its role in disease.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Substitution
  • Animals
  • Argentina / epidemiology
  • Capsid Proteins / genetics
  • Circoviridae Infections / epidemiology
  • Circoviridae Infections / veterinary*
  • Circoviridae Infections / virology
  • Circovirus / classification
  • Circovirus / genetics*
  • Circovirus / pathogenicity
  • DNA, Viral / genetics
  • Disease Outbreaks / veterinary
  • Dog Diseases / epidemiology
  • Dog Diseases / virology*
  • Dogs
  • Gastroenteritis / veterinary
  • Gastroenteritis / virology
  • Genome, Viral
  • Parvoviridae Infections / epidemiology
  • Parvoviridae Infections / veterinary
  • Parvoviridae Infections / virology
  • Parvovirus, Canine / genetics
  • Phylogeny
  • South America / epidemiology

Substances

  • Capsid Proteins
  • DNA, Viral

Grants and funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work.