Wang Suting, Xu Mingyi, Lin Xiaojuan, Xiong Ping, Liu Yao, Xu Aiqiang, Chen Meng, Ji Shengxiang, Tao Zexin
Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jinan, 250014, China.
Shandong Academy of Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine, Jinan, 250062, China.
Virol J. 2025 Jan 27;22(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s12985-025-02638-5.
Human noroviruses are the major cause of acute gastroenteritis and exhibit considerable genetic diversity. Next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis based on environmental surveillance has been proved to be an effective method in norovirus surveillance.
Between January 2019 and December 2021, 36 sewage samples were collected and analyzed using real-time quantitative PCR to detect noroviruses. Partial VP1 region was amplified and subjected to NGS analysis to assess the abundance and genetic characterization of various norovirus genotypes across different samples.
A total of 23 norovirus genotypes were identified, including 9 genotypes of GI, 13 genotypes of GII and 1 genotype of GIX. The most frequently detected genotypes were GI.5 (86.11%), GII.2 (86.11%), GII.4 (63.89%), GII.17 (58.33%), and GII.13 (55.56%). Additionally, some rare genotypes, such as GI.7, GII.5, GII.9, and GII.16, which had not been previously reported in Shandong, were identified. No significant differences were observed in genotypic diversity or viral copy numbers in sewage samples when comparing pre- and post-COVID-19 periods. A total of 379 partial VP1 sequences were obtained, with the means sequence identity within a genotype of Shandong sequences ranging from 92.69 to 98.37% and a coefficient of variation ranging from 1.46 to 6.73%. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that local noroviruses within each genotype comprised multiple co-circulating lineages.
Our data demonstrate that sewage contains noroviruses with considerable high diversities. NGS based environmental surveillance greatly improves the understanding of norovirus circulation and should be encouraged.
人诺如病毒是急性胃肠炎的主要病因，且具有相当大的遗传多样性。基于环境监测的下一代测序（NGS）分析已被证明是诺如病毒监测的有效方法。
2019年1月至2021年12月期间，收集了36份污水样本，采用实时定量PCR检测诺如病毒。扩增部分VP1区域并进行NGS分析，以评估不同样本中各种诺如病毒基因型的丰度和遗传特征。
共鉴定出23种诺如病毒基因型，包括9种GI基因型、13种GII基因型和1种GIX基因型。最常检测到的基因型是GI.5（86.11%）、GII.2（86.11%）、GII.4（63.89%）、GII.17（58.33%）和GII.13（55.56%）。此外，还鉴定出一些此前在山东未报道过的罕见基因型，如GI.7、GII.5、GII.9和GII.16。比较新冠疫情前后，污水样本中的基因型多样性或病毒拷贝数未观察到显著差异。共获得379条部分VP1序列，山东序列在一个基因型内的平均序列同一性为92.69%至98.37%，变异系数为1.46%至6.73%。系统发育分析表明，每个基因型内的本地诺如病毒包含多个共同传播的谱系。
我们的数据表明，污水中含有高度多样的诺如病毒。基于NGS的环境监测极大地增进了对诺如病毒传播的了解，应予以鼓励。
