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Due to their need for living cells, viruses have developed adaptive evolutionary strategies to survive and perpetuate in reservoir hosts that play a crucial role in the ecology of emerging pathogens. Pathogenic and potentially pandemic betacoronaviruses arose in humans in 2002 (SARS-CoV, disappeared in July 2003), 2012 (MERS-CoV, still circulating in Middle East areas), and 2019 (SARS-CoV-2, causing the current global pandemic). As universally recognized, bats host ancestors of the above-mentioned zoonotic viruses. However, hedgehogs have been recently identified in Europe and Asia as possible reservoirs of MERS-CoV-like strains classified as Erinaceus coronavirus (EriCoV). To elucidate the evolution and genetics of EriCoVs, NGS (next generation sequencing) and Sanger sequencing were used to examine fecal samples collected in Northern Italy in 2018/2019 from 12 hedgehogs previously found EriCoV-positive by RT-PCR. By sequence analysis, eight complete EriCoV genomes, obtained by NGS, showed a high phylogenetic correlation with EriCoV strains previously reported in Eurasia. Interestingly, eight viral strains presented an additional ORF encoding for the CD200 ortholog located between the genes encoding for the Spike and the ORF3a proteins. The CD200 ortholog sequences were closely similar to the host CD200 protein but varying among EriCoVs. The result, confirmed by Sanger sequencing, demonstrates for the first time that CoVs can acquire host genes potentially involved in the immune-modulatory cascade and possibly enabling the virus to escape the host defence.
Luca De Sabato; Ilaria Di Bartolo; Maria Alessandra De Marco; Ana Moreno; Davide Lelli; Claudia Cotti; Mauro Delogu; Gabriele Vaccari. Can Coronaviruses Steal Genes from the Host as Evidenced in Western European Hedgehogs by EriCoV Genetic Characterization? Viruses 2020, 12, 1471 .
AMA StyleLuca De Sabato, Ilaria Di Bartolo, Maria Alessandra De Marco, Ana Moreno, Davide Lelli, Claudia Cotti, Mauro Delogu, Gabriele Vaccari. Can Coronaviruses Steal Genes from the Host as Evidenced in Western European Hedgehogs by EriCoV Genetic Characterization? Viruses. 2020; 12 (12):1471.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuca De Sabato; Ilaria Di Bartolo; Maria Alessandra De Marco; Ana Moreno; Davide Lelli; Claudia Cotti; Mauro Delogu; Gabriele Vaccari. 2020. "Can Coronaviruses Steal Genes from the Host as Evidenced in Western European Hedgehogs by EriCoV Genetic Characterization?" Viruses 12, no. 12: 1471.
Identifying Hepatitis E virus (HEV)-positive pig farms is important to implement surveillance programs for this emerging zoonotic agent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of serosanguineous fluids obtained as part of castration practice (processing fluids (PFs)) to detect anti-HEV antibodies in newborn piglets. Ninety-five paired serum and PF samples were collected from piglets of 29 different litters and tested with a commercial ELISA kit. A significant positive correlation (Spearman’s rho: 0.600; p < 0.01) was found between anti-HEV antibodies in serum and PF samples. In 26 out of 29 litters (89.7%), there was at least one positive piglet in the serum. Sixteen litters out of 29 (55.2%) were also positive in PFs. To simulate the use of PF as pooled samples, the limit of detection of the ELISA was assessed mixing the PF sample with strong, medium, medium-weak and weak ELISA titres with 3, 4, 5 and 6 negative PF samples. Our results suggest that it is still possible to identify a positive PF pool when at least one individual PF sample with medium or strong antibody levels is mixed with 5 or 6 individual negative PF samples. The detection of anti-HEV maternal-derived antibodies in PF confirms a past exposure of sows to the virus. PF may represent a rapid, noninvasive and economical tool to identify HEV-positive farms.
Ilaria Di Bartolo; Luca De Sabato; Eleonora Chelli; Giovanni Loris Alborali; Matteo Tonni; Marina Monini; Alessia De Lucia; Fabio Ostanello. Pilot Investigation on the Presence of Anti-Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Antibodies in Piglet Processing Fluids. Animals 2020, 10, 1168 .
AMA StyleIlaria Di Bartolo, Luca De Sabato, Eleonora Chelli, Giovanni Loris Alborali, Matteo Tonni, Marina Monini, Alessia De Lucia, Fabio Ostanello. Pilot Investigation on the Presence of Anti-Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Antibodies in Piglet Processing Fluids. Animals. 2020; 10 (7):1168.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIlaria Di Bartolo; Luca De Sabato; Eleonora Chelli; Giovanni Loris Alborali; Matteo Tonni; Marina Monini; Alessia De Lucia; Fabio Ostanello. 2020. "Pilot Investigation on the Presence of Anti-Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Antibodies in Piglet Processing Fluids." Animals 10, no. 7: 1168.
Porcine sapelovirus (PSV) belongs to the genus Sapelovirus of the family Picornaviridae. PSV infects pigs asymptomatically, but it can also cause severe neurologic, enteric, and respiratory symptoms or reproductive failure. Sapelovirus infections have been reported worldwide in pigs. The objective of this study was to investigate the presence and the prevalence of PSV in Italian swine farms in animals of different ages to clarify the occurrence of the infection and the genetic characteristics of circulating strains. In the present study, 92 pools of fecal samples, collected from pigs across three farms, were analyzed by Reverse Transcriptase-polymerase Chain Reaction-PCR (RT-PCR). Fecal pools from young growers (63/64) were found positive for Sapelovirus in all farms while detection in sows (4/28) was observed in only one farm. Phylogenetic analyses of the 19 partial capsid protein nucleotide sequences (VP1) (6–7 each farm) enable the classification of the virus sequences into three distinct clades and highlighted the high heterogeneity within one farm. The whole genome sequence obtained from one strain showed the highest correlation with the Italian strain detected in 2015. The study adds novel information about the circulation and heterogeneity of PSV strains in Italy and considering the movement of pigs across Europe would also be informative for other countries.
Eleonora Chelli; Luca De Sabato; Gabriele Vaccari; Fabio Ostanello; Ilaria Di Bartolo. Detection and Characterization of Porcine Sapelovirus in Italian Pig Farms. Animals 2020, 10, 1 .
AMA StyleEleonora Chelli, Luca De Sabato, Gabriele Vaccari, Fabio Ostanello, Ilaria Di Bartolo. Detection and Characterization of Porcine Sapelovirus in Italian Pig Farms. Animals. 2020; 10 (6):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEleonora Chelli; Luca De Sabato; Gabriele Vaccari; Fabio Ostanello; Ilaria Di Bartolo. 2020. "Detection and Characterization of Porcine Sapelovirus in Italian Pig Farms." Animals 10, no. 6: 1.