A Molecular Epidemiological Investigation of Carriage of the Adeno-Associated Virus in Murine Rodents and House Shrews in China

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of the adeno-associated virus (AAV) in murine rodents and house shrews in 4 provinces of China. Methods: A total of 469 murine rodents and 19 house shrews were captured between May 2015 and May 2017. Cap gene of AAV sequences was obtained to evaluate the genetic characteristics of rat AAV. Results: Rat AAVs were found in 54.7% (267/488) of throat swabs, 14.3% (70/488) of fecal samples, and 18.4% (41/223) of serum samples. Rat AAVs were detected in 3 species of murine rodents including Rattus norvegicus (34.8%), R. tanezumi (43.0%), and R. losea (2.3%), and house shrews (Suncus murinus) (26.1%) from the selected sampling sites. Fourteen near-full-length Cap gene sequences, ranging in length from 2,156 to 2,169 nt, were isolated from the fecal samples of R. norvegicus and R. tanezumi. These 14 sequences shared a high identity of 97.4% at the nucleotide level and 99.1% at the amino acid level. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the rat AAV formed a distinct clade, distinguishable from the AAV discovered in humans and in other animals. Conclusions: A high prevalence of rat AAV that was highly conserved within the Cap gene was found in 3 common murine rodents and house shrews in China.