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Kalogianni AI, Bouzalas I, Marka S, Zografaki ME, Mavrikou S, Gelasakis AI. Genetic Characterization of Small Ruminant Lentiviruses Isolated from Dairy Sheep in Greece. Viruses 2024; 16:547. [PMID: 38675890 PMCID: PMC11053789 DOI: 10.3390/v16040547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Revised: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The high genetic heterogeneity of small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV) renders the genetic characterization of the circulating strains crucial for the epidemiological investigation and the designation of effective diagnostic tools. In Greece, research data regarding the genetic diversity of the circulating SRLV strains is scarce, hindering the implementation of efficient surveillance and control programs. The objective of the study was to genetically characterize SRLV strains isolated from intensive dairy sheep farms in Greece and evaluate the variability of the immunodominant regions of the capsid protein. For this reason, a total of 12 SRLV-infected animals from four intensive dairy sheep farms with purebred Chios and Lacaune ewes were used for the amplification and sequencing of an 800 bp gag-pol fragment. The phylogenetic analyses revealed a breed-related circulation of strains; Chios ewes were infected with strains belonging exclusively to a separate group of genotype A, whereas strains belonging to subtype B2 were isolated from Lacaune ewes. Immunodominant epitopes of capsid protein were quite conserved among the strains of the same genotype, except for the Major Homology Region which showed some unique mutations with potential effects on viral evolution. The present study contributes to the extension of the current knowledge regarding the genetic diversity of SRLV strains circulating in sheep in Greece. However, broader genetic characterization studies are warranted for the exploration of possible recombinant events and the more comprehensive classification of the circulating strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aphrodite I. Kalogianni
- Laboratory of Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, Department of Animal Science, School of Animal Biosciences, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), Iera Odos 75 Str., 11855 Athens, Greece;
| | - Ilias Bouzalas
- Veterinary Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DEMETER, Campus of Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece;
| | - Sofia Marka
- Laboratory of Cell Technology, Department of Biotechnology, School of Applied Biology and Biotechnology, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), EU-CONEXUS European University, 11855 Athens, Greece; (S.M.); (M.-E.Z.); (S.M.)
| | - Maria-Eleftheria Zografaki
- Laboratory of Cell Technology, Department of Biotechnology, School of Applied Biology and Biotechnology, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), EU-CONEXUS European University, 11855 Athens, Greece; (S.M.); (M.-E.Z.); (S.M.)
| | - Sofia Mavrikou
- Laboratory of Cell Technology, Department of Biotechnology, School of Applied Biology and Biotechnology, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), EU-CONEXUS European University, 11855 Athens, Greece; (S.M.); (M.-E.Z.); (S.M.)
| | - Athanasios I. Gelasakis
- Laboratory of Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, Department of Animal Science, School of Animal Biosciences, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), Iera Odos 75 Str., 11855 Athens, Greece;
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Mongkonwattanaporn T, Lertwatcharasarakul P, Rukkwamsuk T. Development of in-house ELISA based on recombinant gag proteins of small ruminant lentiviruses isolated from goats in Thailand. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3636. [PMID: 38351130 PMCID: PMC10864301 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54360-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs), are grouped in Retroviridae family, remain a significant loss in the small ruminant husbandry. As a result of unavailability of vaccine and effective treatment, the diagnosis plays a crucial role for the control of SRLV infection. However, the major challenge of diagnosis of SRLV infection is the genetic and antigenic variability of the viruses that can lead to a failure in serological detection. This study investigated the circulating strains of the viruses in goats in Thailand and an in-house ELISA was developed. The coding sequences for gag protein were optimized, synthesized, and expressed in Escherichia coli for increasing the sensitivity of ELISA test. A total of 365 serum samples were examined against the recombinant protein in an in-house ELISA. The results showed that the recombinant gag achieves 96.67% sensitivity and 93.18% specificity as compared with the commercially available ELISA test kit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatchapon Mongkonwattanaporn
- Department of Large Animal and Wildlife Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Malaiman Road, Kamphaeng Saen, Nakhon Pathom, 73140, Thailand
| | - Preeda Lertwatcharasarakul
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Malaiman Road, Kamphaeng Saen, Nakhon Pathom, 73140, Thailand
| | - Theera Rukkwamsuk
- Department of Large Animal and Wildlife Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Malaiman Road, Kamphaeng Saen, Nakhon Pathom, 73140, Thailand.
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Kalogianni AI, Stavropoulos I, Chaintoutis SC, Bossis I, Gelasakis AI. Serological, Molecular and Culture-Based Diagnosis of Lentiviral Infections in Small Ruminants. Viruses 2021; 13:1711. [PMID: 34578292 PMCID: PMC8473411 DOI: 10.3390/v13091711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 08/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs) infections lead to chronic diseases and remarkable economic losses undermining health and welfare of animals and the sustainability of farms. Early and definite diagnosis of SRLVs infections is the cornerstone for any control and eradication efforts; however, a "gold standard" test and/or diagnostic protocols with extensive applicability have yet to be developed. The main challenges preventing the development of a universally accepted diagnostic tool with sufficient sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy to be integrated in SRLVs control programs are the genetic variability of SRLVs associated with mutations, recombination, and cross-species transmission and the peculiarities of small ruminants' humoral immune response regarding late seroconversion, as well as intermittent and epitope-specific antibody production. The objectives of this review paper were to summarize the available serological and molecular assays for the diagnosis of SRLVs, to highlight their diagnostic performance emphasizing on advantages and drawbacks of their application, and to discuss current and future perspectives, challenges, limitations and impacts regarding the development of reliable and efficient tools for the diagnosis of SRLVs infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aphrodite I. Kalogianni
- Laboratory of Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, Department of Animal Science, School of Animal Biosciences, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), Iera Odos 75 Str., 11855 Athens, Greece
| | - Ioannis Stavropoulos
- Laboratory of Animal Husbandry, Department of Agricultural Sciences, School of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; (Ι.S.); (I.B.)
| | - Serafeim C. Chaintoutis
- Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), 11 Stavrou Voutyra Str., 54627 Thessaloniki, Greece;
| | - Ioannis Bossis
- Laboratory of Animal Husbandry, Department of Agricultural Sciences, School of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; (Ι.S.); (I.B.)
| | - Athanasios I. Gelasakis
- Laboratory of Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, Department of Animal Science, School of Animal Biosciences, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), Iera Odos 75 Str., 11855 Athens, Greece
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Ramírez H, Echeverría I, Benito AA, Glaria I, Benavides J, Pérez V, de Andrés D, Reina R. Accurate Diagnosis of Small Ruminant Lentivirus Infection Is Needed for Selection of Resistant Sheep through TMEM154 E35K Genotyping. Pathogens 2021. [DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10010083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV) cause an incurable multiorganic disease widely spread in sheep and goats that disturbs animal welfare and production. In the absence of a vaccine, control measures have been traditionally based on early diagnosis and breeding with virus-inactivated colostrum with segregation of seropositive animals. However, antigenic heterogeneity, poor antibody production due to low viral load, and single strain design of most available ELISA, pose a threat to SRLV diagnosis. Genome-wide association studies have described TMEM154 E35K polymorphism as a good genetic marker for selection of resistant animals in some American and European breeds. In this study, a multitargeted serological and virological screening of more than 500 animals from four different breeds (latxa, raza Navarra, assaf, and churra) attending to SRLV infection status was performed. Then, animals were genotyped to characterize TMEM154 E35K polymorphism. ELISA procedures, individually considered, only identified a proportion of the seropositive animals, and PCR detected a fraction of seronegative animals, globally offering different animal classifications according to SRLV infection status. TMEM154 allele frequency differed substantially among breeds and a positive association between seroprevalence and TMEM154 genotype was found only in one breed. Selection based on TMEM154 may be suitable for specific ovine breeds or SRLV strains, however generalization to the whole SRLV genetic spectrum, ovine breeds, or epidemiological situation may need further validation.
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Ramírez H, Echeverría I, Benito AA, Glaria I, Benavides J, Pérez V, de Andrés D, Reina R. Accurate Diagnosis of Small Ruminant Lentivirus Infection Is Needed for Selection of Resistant Sheep through TMEM154 E35K Genotyping. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10010083. [PMID: 33478070 PMCID: PMC7835874 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10010083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV) cause an incurable multiorganic disease widely spread in sheep and goats that disturbs animal welfare and production. In the absence of a vaccine, control measures have been traditionally based on early diagnosis and breeding with virus-inactivated colostrum with segregation of seropositive animals. However, antigenic heterogeneity, poor antibody production due to low viral load, and single strain design of most available ELISA, pose a threat to SRLV diagnosis. Genome-wide association studies have described TMEM154 E35K polymorphism as a good genetic marker for selection of resistant animals in some American and European breeds. In this study, a multitargeted serological and virological screening of more than 500 animals from four different breeds (latxa, raza Navarra, assaf, and churra) attending to SRLV infection status was performed. Then, animals were genotyped to characterize TMEM154 E35K polymorphism. ELISA procedures, individually considered, only identified a proportion of the seropositive animals, and PCR detected a fraction of seronegative animals, globally offering different animal classifications according to SRLV infection status. TMEM154 allele frequency differed substantially among breeds and a positive association between seroprevalence and TMEM154 genotype was found only in one breed. Selection based on TMEM154 may be suitable for specific ovine breeds or SRLV strains, however generalization to the whole SRLV genetic spectrum, ovine breeds, or epidemiological situation may need further validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Ramírez
- Virology, Genetics and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Higher Education, Cuautitlan, Veterinary Medicine, Campus 4, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Km. 2.5 Carretera Cuautitlán-Teoloyucan, San Sebastián Xhala, Cuautitlán Izcalli Estado de México C.P. 54714, Mexico;
| | - Irache Echeverría
- Animal Health Department, Institute of Agrobiotechnology (IdAB), CSIC-Government of Navarra, 31192 Navarra, Spain; (I.E.); (I.G.); (D.d.A.)
| | - Alfredo A. Benito
- Molecular and Cell Biology Department, EXOPOL SL, 50840 Zaragoza, Spain;
| | - Idoia Glaria
- Animal Health Department, Institute of Agrobiotechnology (IdAB), CSIC-Government of Navarra, 31192 Navarra, Spain; (I.E.); (I.G.); (D.d.A.)
| | - Julio Benavides
- Mountain Livestock Institute (IGM), CSIC-University of León, 24346 León, Spain;
| | - Valentín Pérez
- Department of Animal Health, University of León, 24071 León, Spain;
| | - Damián de Andrés
- Animal Health Department, Institute of Agrobiotechnology (IdAB), CSIC-Government of Navarra, 31192 Navarra, Spain; (I.E.); (I.G.); (D.d.A.)
| | - Ramsés Reina
- Animal Health Department, Institute of Agrobiotechnology (IdAB), CSIC-Government of Navarra, 31192 Navarra, Spain; (I.E.); (I.G.); (D.d.A.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +34-948-168022
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Chassalevris T, Chaintoutis SC, Apostolidi ED, Giadinis ND, Vlemmas I, Brellou GD, Dovas CI. A highly sensitive semi-nested real-time PCR utilizing oligospermine-conjugated degenerate primers for the detection of diverse strains of small ruminant lentiviruses. Mol Cell Probes 2020; 51:101528. [PMID: 32004592 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcp.2020.101528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2019] [Revised: 01/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs) are highly diverse retroviruses infecting sheep and goats. Although PCR-based testing is being utilized for diagnostics, its application is hampered by various factors. These include, among others, the exceptionally high genetic variability of SRLVs, as well as the low number of infected blood monocytes. For this reason, a highly sensitive and specific semi-nested real-time PCR for proviral DNA detection and quantification was developed. The method is innovative in that a) its design is based on selecting the preferred codon usage in the targeted conserved genomic regions and b) oligospermine-conjugated degenerate primers with increased Tm were utilized. Modifications permitted primer/template duplex formation in the cases of mismatches due to sporadic nucleotide polymorphisms in a number of variant SRLV strains and consequently, the detection of highly diverse SRLV strains. The potential loss of analytical sensitivity and specificity was counterbalanced by including a semi-nested step in combination with LNA probes. An in silico procedure for the evaluation of hybridization efficiency of the designed oligonucleotides to all known targeted variants was also implemented. The method presents a linear range of quantification over a 3-log10 range and a limit of detection of 3.9 proviral dsDNA copies per reaction. Its diagnostic performance was evaluated by testing field samples from seropositive and seronegative animals, followed by phylogenetic analysis of the strains detected. To further increase the diagnostic sensitivity, a DNA extraction protocol for blood leukocytes was developed and evaluated. A minimum of 500 ng input DNA is recommended for PCR-based detection of SRLV proviral DNA, given the low numbers of infected blood monocytes. The developed methodology may serve as a useful tool, which can be adjusted for the quantitative detection of viruses exhibiting high genetic variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taxiarchis Chassalevris
- Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra Str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Serafeim C Chaintoutis
- Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra Str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Evangelia D Apostolidi
- Laboratory of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Nektarios D Giadinis
- Clinic of Farm Animals, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra Str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Ioannis Vlemmas
- Laboratory of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Georgia D Brellou
- Laboratory of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Chrysostomos I Dovas
- Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 11 Stavrou Voutyra Str., 54627, Thessaloniki, Greece.
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