Nishida Tomoko, Nishio Osamu, Kato Masahiko, Chuma Takehisa, Kato Hirotomo, Iwata Hiroyuki, Kimura Hirokazu
Yamaguchi Prefectural Research Institute of Public Health, Yamaguchi, Japan.
Microbiol Immunol. 2007;51(2):177-84. doi: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.2007.tb03899.x.
Norovirus (NV) is a causative agent of acute gastroenteritis in humans, and shellfishes including oysters act as major vehicles of the virus. To investigate the genetic characteristics of NVs, we collected 1,512 oysters for raw consumption between October 2002 and March 2005 from two distinct areas (area A: the Sanriku Sea area; area B: the Setouchi Sea area). We detected the capsid gene and subjected it to phylogenetic analysis. By further quantification of the copy number of the genome by using real-time PCR, the NV capcid gene was detected in approximately 5% of the oysters, and they showed wide diversity. Two percent of the oysters from area B showed relatively large number of NVs, i.e., over 100 copies of capsid gene/oyster, whereas this was not observed in area A. Most of the detected NVs from oysters and humans were genetically related when the capsid region was compared. These results suggested that NVs obtained from humans and those obtained from oysters showed a potential relationship to each other and that some populations of Japanese oysters accumulated a relatively large number of NVs.
诺如病毒（NV）是人类急性肠胃炎的病原体，包括牡蛎在内的贝类是该病毒的主要传播媒介。为了研究诺如病毒的基因特征，我们在2002年10月至2005年3月期间，从两个不同地区（A区：三陆海域；B区：濑户内海海域）采集了1512份供生食的牡蛎。我们检测了衣壳基因并进行了系统发育分析。通过使用实时PCR进一步定量基因组的拷贝数，在大约5%的牡蛎中检测到诺如病毒衣壳基因，并且它们表现出广泛的多样性。B区2%的牡蛎中诺如病毒数量相对较多，即每个牡蛎的衣壳基因拷贝数超过100个，而在A区未观察到这种情况。当比较衣壳区域时，从牡蛎和人类中检测到的大多数诺如病毒在基因上是相关的。这些结果表明，从人类获得的诺如病毒和从牡蛎获得的诺如病毒彼此之间存在潜在关系，并且日本牡蛎的一些种群积累了相对大量的诺如病毒。
