Genetic characterization of feline calicivirus strains associated with varying disease manifestations during an outbreak season in Missouri (1995-1996).

Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a common cause of mild to severe upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) in cats. FCV strain 21223 was isolated from a kitten with severe pneumonia in a disease outbreak with unusually high mortality (35 %) that occurred in a Missouri feline colony in 1995-1996. Phylogenetic analysis of the genome sequence of strain 21223 indicated the emergence of a new FCV strain. Analysis of the full-length genome sequence of a closely related (99.5 % nucleotide identity) strain, 3786, obtained from an asymptomatic animal in the same colony four months later, showed the presence of seven amino acid substitutions, with six of them located in the VP1 capsid sequence encoded by ORF2. Comparative analysis of the E-region sequences (426-521 aa ORF2) presumably involved in virus-host cell receptor interactions did not identify amino acid substitutions unique to the virulent strain. We determined the complete genome sequences of four virus isolates that were collected in regional catteries in the months following the outbreak that were associated with different manifestations of the disease (URTD, chronic stomatitis, and gingivitis). We show that genetically distinct FCV strains were cocirculating in the area, and no apparent correlation could be made between overall sequence and observed disease.