Evolution and tropism of transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus

Abstract

Transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus (TGEV) is an enteropathogenic coronavirus isolated for the first time in 1946. Nonenteropathogenic porcine respiratory coronaviruses (PRCVs) have been derived from TGEV. The genetic relationship among six European PRCVs and five coronaviruses of the TGEV antigenic cluster has been determined based on their RNA sequences. The S proteins of six European PRCVs have an identical deletion of 224 amino acids starting at position 21. The deleted area includes the antigenic sites C and B of TGEV S glycoprotein. Interestingly, two viruses (NEB72 and TOY56) with respiratory tropism have the S protein with a similar size to the enteric viruses. NEB72 and TOY56 viruses have 2 and 15 specific amino acid differences with the enteric viruses, respectively. Four of the residues changed are located within the deletion present in the PRCVs and may influence the enteric tropism of TGEV in vivo. A receptor binding site (RBS) used by the virus to infect ST and other cell types might be located between sites A and D of the S glycoprotein, since monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific for these sites inhibit the binding of the virus to ST cells. An evolutionary tree relating 13 enteric and respiratory isolates has been proposed. According to this tree, a main virus lineage evolved from a recent progenitor which was circulating around 1941. From this, secondary lineages originated PUR46, NEB72, TOY56, MIL65, BRI70, and the PRCVs, in this order. Least squares estimation of the origin of TGEV-related coronaviruses showed a significant constancy in the mutation fixation rate. This rate was 7±2 x 10-4 nucleotide substitutions per site and per year and falls in the range reported for other RNA viruses. Point mutations and probably recombination events have occurred during TGEV evolution.