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Genomic characterization of a novel poxvirus from a flying fox: evidence for a new genus?
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Genomic characterization of a novel poxvirus from a flying fox: evidence for a new genus?

M.A. O'Dea, S-L Tu, S. Pang, T. De Ridder, B. Jackson and C. Upton
Journal of General Virology, Vol.97(9), pp.2363-2375
2016
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Abstract

The carcass of an Australian little red flying fox (Pteropus scapulatus) which died following entrapment on a fence was submitted to the laboratory for Australian bat lyssavirus exclusion testing, which was negative. During post-mortem, multiple nodules were noted on the wing membranes, and therefore degenerate PCR primers targeting the poxvirus DNA polymerase gene were used to screen for poxviruses. The poxvirus PCR screen was positive and sequencing of the PCR product demonstrated very low, but significant, similarity with the DNA polymerase gene from members of the Poxviridae family. Next-generation sequencing of DNA extracted from the lesions returned a contig of 132 353 nucleotides (nt), which was further extended to produce a near full-length viral genome of 133 492 nt. Analysis of the genome revealed it to be AT-rich with inverted terminal repeats of at least 1314 nt and to contain 143 predicted genes. The genome contains a surprisingly large number (29) of genes not found in other poxviruses, one of which appears to be a homologue of the mammalian TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) gene. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the poxvirus described here is not closely related to any other poxvirus isolated from bats or other species, and that it likely should be placed in a new genus.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Citation topics
1 Clinical & Life Sciences
1.161 Virology - Identification & Sequencing
1.161.1662 Poxvirus Immunology
Web Of Science research areas
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Virology
ESI research areas
Microbiology
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