Whole genome sequencing of an Indian isolate of bluetongue virus and its molecular epidemiology

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Date
2016
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LUVAS
Abstract
Bluetongue virus (BTV) is the type species of family Reoviridae, genus Orbivirus. It is the etiological agent of bluetongue disease – a non contagious hemorrhagic disease of small and wild ruminants transmitted by biting midges of genus Culicoides spp. The double stranded segmented RNA genome of the virus is responsible for continuous reassortments between segments from different strains which maintain the virus in nature by giving it diverse means of survival, pathogenicity and ample opportunities of spreading to previously unaffected areas. This study has been done in order to collect and analyze data for a better understanding of the molecular epidemiology of the virus. Whole genome of an Indian isolate of BTV (IND2014/01) was sequenced. The virus was serotyped as BTV-16 using a panel of BTV typing qRT-PCR. The phylogenetic analysis of the data of all ten genome segments has revealed that IND2014/01 is an reassortment strain with nine genome segments (except Seg-5) belonging to ‘eastern’ lineage related to strains circulating in India, Far East and China, whereas Seg-5 is of ‘western’ origin, which might have implications for its transmission. The data is a valuable addition to develop novel diagnostics as well as vaccination strategies for this group of the viruses.
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