Molecular epidemiology of rabies virus isolated of herbivores from Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Rabies virus samples (n = 17) isolated from bovines (n = 11), equines (n = 4) and buffalo (n = 2) from Pará State (n = 7), Tocantins (n = 6) and Rondônia (n = 4) were submitted to RT-PCR in order to obtain partial sequences of nucleoprotein (N) and glycoprotein gene (G). Nucleotide sequences were analyzed using Neighbor-Joining model, Kimura 2-parameters evolutionary model. All the 17 samples analyzed were related to cluster A, lineage associated with the hematophagous bat Desmodus rotundus. The phylogenetic analysis based on the N and G genes, suggests the presence of five sub-lineages (A1-A5), while G gene showed seven sub-lineages (A1-A7). In both phylogenies, sublineages A1 to A3 exhibit a similar composition and geographic distribution. Diverse composition of remaining groups of N and G gene is attributable to different sequences used in the alignments for each genomic region. Glycoprotein amino acid sequence showed molecular markers in sub-lineages A2, A3, A4 and A7. This information provides a better comprehension of molecular epidemiology of rabies, starting with the knowledge of viral lineages circulating in the Brazilian Amazon.