Abstract:

Canine circovirus (CanineCV) is a virus associated with canine gastrointestinal diseases. Since it was first identified from dogs in 2012 in the United States. Researchers have subsequently detected the presence of CanineCV in various wildlife species, including wolves (Canis lupus), badgers (Meles meles), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) and jackals(Lupulella mesomelas).In 2016, CanineCV was first reported in dogs in China. However, a systematic investigation of CanineCV infection in wildlife in China remains lacking. We acquired tissue specimens from an ill and deceased otter (Lutra lutra), and successfully identified the presence of CanineCV through the application of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). We designed of CanineCV genome-wide primers for whole genome amplification, sequenced and analyzed the direction of genetic evolution. Result were as follows: Through PCR technology, we tested the otter tissue samples for CanineCV, and the results were positive. By whole-genome amplification, sequencing, and assembly, we successfully obtained a CanineCV whole-genome sequence with a length of 2 063 nt. Nucleotide homology analysis revealed that this strain had a gene sequence homology of 84.6%-98.2% with all other strains in GenBank. After constructing a genetic evolution tree, we found that this strain belonged to CanineCV-3. This is the first identification of CanineCV infection in an otter, and we have successfully obtained the first whole-genome sequence and genetic evolution information of CanineCV derived from wildlife in China. The above results illustrate the potential hazards of CanineCV infecting otters and their possibility of infecting more other animals, thus suggesting that we should strengthen the monitoring of CanineCV infection in different animals.

Key words: canine circovirus, Lutra lutra, epidemiology, genetic evolutionary analysis