Biology department, Faculty of Science, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, 6135743135, Iran.
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Animal Sciences and Food Technology, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran.
BMC Vet Res. 2022 Jan 6;18(1):19. doi: 10.1186/s12917-021-03119-x.
Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) is an arthropod-borne viral disease caused by the BEF virus (BEFV). This single-stranded RNA virus that affects cattle and water buffalo is endemic in tropical and subtropical regions including Iran. While BEF is a major disease of cattle in Iran, information regarding its agent, molecular characterization, and circulating viruses are highly limited. The current study aimed to, firstly, determine the genetic and antigenic characteristics of BEFV strains in Khuzestan province in Southwest of Iran in 2018 and 2020 and, secondly, to compare them with strains obtained from other areas.
By phylogenetic analysis based on the Glycoprotein gene, BEFV strains were divided into four clusters of Middle East, East Asia, South Africa, and Australia; in which the 2018 and 2020 Iranian BEFV strains were grouped in the Middle East cluster with the Turkish, Indian, and Israeli strains. Depending on the chronology and geographical area, the outbreaks of Turkey (2020), Iran (2018 and 2020), and India (2018 and 2019) are proposed to be related. These BEFVs had the highest identity matrix and the lowest evolutionary distance among the studied strains. Multiple sequence alignment of G1, G2, and G3 antigenic sites showed that these neutralizing epitopes are highly conserved among the strains of the Middle East cluster; however, the strains previously identified in Iran differed in three amino acids placed in G1 and G2 epitopes.
The findings revealed that BEFVs circulating in the Middle East are closely related phylogenetically and geographically. They also have similar antigenic structures; therefore, developing a vaccine based on these strains can be effective for controlling BEF in the Middle East.
牛暂时热（BEF）是一种由 BEF 病毒（BEFV）引起的节肢动物传播的病毒性疾病。这种影响牛和水牛的单链 RNA 病毒在包括伊朗在内的热带和亚热带地区流行。虽然 BEF 是伊朗牛的主要疾病，但有关其病原体、分子特征和循环病毒的信息非常有限。本研究的目的首先是确定 2018 年和 2020 年伊朗西南部胡齐斯坦省 BEFV 株的遗传和抗原特征，其次是将其与来自其他地区的菌株进行比较。
基于糖蛋白基因的系统进化分析，BEFV 株分为中东、东亚、南非和澳大利亚四个群；其中 2018 年和 2020 年伊朗 BEFV 株与土耳其、印度和以色列株一起分为中东群。根据时间顺序和地理区域，土耳其（2020 年）、伊朗（2018 年和 2020 年）和印度（2018 年和 2019 年）的暴发被认为是相关的。这些 BEFV 在研究株中具有最高的身份矩阵和最低的进化距离。G1、G2 和 G3 抗原位点的多重序列比对表明，这些中和表位在中东群的株中高度保守；然而，之前在伊朗鉴定的株在 G1 和 G2 表位中存在三个氨基酸差异。
研究结果表明，中东地区流行的 BEFV 在进化和地理上密切相关。它们也具有相似的抗原结构；因此，基于这些菌株开发疫苗可以有效地控制中东的 BEF。
