Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), Beijing, 100071, China.
PLA Strategic Support Force Characteristic Medical Center, Beijing, 100071, China.
Virol Sin. 2021 Feb;36(1):113-121. doi: 10.1007/s12250-020-00246-x. Epub 2020 Jul 6.
West Nile virus (WNV) is an important neurotropic flavivirus that is widely distributed globally. WNV strain XJ11129 was first isolated in Xinjiang, China, and its genetic and biological characteristics remain largely unknown. In this study, phylogenetic and sequence analyses revealed that XJ11129 belongs to lineage 1a and shares high genetic identity with the highly pathogenic strain NY99. Then, the full-length genomic cDNA of XJ11129 was amplified and assembled using a modified Gibson assembly (GA) method. The virus (named rXJ11129) was successfully rescued in days following this method. Compared with other wild-type WNV isolates, rXJ11129 exhibited virulence indistinguishable from that of the NY99 strain in vivo. In summary, the genomic and virulence phenotypes of rXJ11129 were characterized in vivo and in vitro, and these data will improve the understanding of the spread and pathogenesis of this reemerging virus.
西尼罗河病毒（WNV）是一种广泛分布于全球的重要神经嗜性黄病毒。WNV 株 XJ11129 最初在中国新疆被分离出来，其遗传和生物学特性在很大程度上尚不清楚。在本研究中，系统发育和序列分析表明，XJ11129 属于 1a 谱系，与高致病性 NY99 株具有很高的遗传同源性。然后，使用改良的 Gibson 组装（GA）方法扩增和组装了 XJ11129 的全长基因组 cDNA。通过该方法，成功拯救了病毒（命名为 rXJ11129）。与其他野生型 WNV 分离株相比，rXJ11129 在体内的毒力与 NY99 株相同。总之，rXJ11129 的基因组和毒力表型在体内和体外进行了表征，这些数据将有助于提高对这种重新出现的病毒传播和发病机制的认识。
