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. 2018 Jul 12;80(7):1094-1100.
doi: 10.1292/jvms.17-0704. Epub 2018 May 17.

Mutation of the S and 3c genes in genomes of feline coronaviruses

Keisuke Oguma  1 , Megumi Ohno  1 , Mayuko Yoshida  1   2 , Hiroshi Sentsui  1
Affiliations

Mutation of the S and 3c genes in genomes of feline coronaviruses

Keisuke Oguma et al. J Vet Med Sci. .

Abstract

Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is classified into two biotypes based on its pathogenicity in cats: a feline enteric coronavirus of low pathogenicity and a highly virulent feline infectious peritonitis virus. It has been suspected that FCoV alters its biotype via mutations in the viral genome. The S and 3c genes of FCoV have been considered the candidates for viral pathogenicity conversion. In the present study, FCoVs were analyzed for the frequency and location of mutations in the S and 3c genes from faecal samples of cats in an animal shelter and the faeces, effusions, and tissues of cats that were referred to veterinary hospitals. Our results indicated that approximately 95% FCoVs in faeces did not carry mutations in the two genes. However, 80% FCoVs in effusion samples exhibited mutations in the S and 3c genes with remainder displaying a mutation in the S or 3c gene. It was also suggested that mutational analysis of the 3c gene could be useful for studying the horizontal transmission of FCoVs in multi-cat environments.

Keywords: 3c gene; S gene; feline coronavirus; multi-cat environment; mutation.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Schematic representation of feline coronavirus 3c gene sequences determined in this study. ‘Wild-type’ indicates a sequence encoding 237 amino acids (aa), which is present in most feline enteric coronaviruses. Every sequence shown below contains a mutation resulting in loss, truncation or elongation of the 3c protein in comparison with the wild-type sequence. Arabic numerals on the left indicate the number assigned to the cat. S10 was a cat from an animal shelter. The virus serotype in cat 1 and cat 58 was II, as indicated in parentheses. Each sequence is shown as a horizontal line with the number of nucleotides (nt) and predicted number of amino acids (aa). A deletion is indicated by a white break with ‘∆’ and the number of deleted nt. An insertion (Ins) is shown at the insertion position with the number of inserted nucleotides. An asterisk (*) denotes a stop codon. Black colour indicates the portion of the sequence expected to be translated. Grey colour denotes the portion of the sequence that will not be translated due to a premature stop codon. The sequences are arranged in order of descending protein length for each sample type. An effusion sample from cat 33 contained two variant viruses, one of which harbored an nt substitution in the start codon. Abbreviations: Kid., kidney; Vit., vitreous humor; Spl., spleen; L.N., lymph node.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Sequence similarity of 3c genes in viruses of cats living in a multi-cat environment. A consensus sequence (top) was determined from all 3c gene ORFs via software analysis. Each short vertical line on the sequence diagram represents the replacement of a nucleotide from the consensus sequence. Deletions and nonsense mutations, which are identical in length and position, are enclosed by solid lines. A 29-base deletion, closely related to the 28-base deletions indicated, is enclosed by a dashed-line box. Abbreviations: R.S., rectal swab; Kid., kidney; Asc., ascites; Vit., vitreous humor; Spl., spleen, L.N., lymph node; Fec., faeces.
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