engleski

Genetic diversity of Rotavirus A in wildlife in Croatia

Rotavirus A (RVA) is a worldwide-distributed enteric pathogen, primarily in humans and domestic animals. Their genetic backbone and molecular epidemiology in wildlife species is rather unknown ; hence, their importance might be underestimated. Herein, as a part of the RVA molecular epidemiology project in the Croatian ecosystem, we present the first results on RVA genetic diversity in selected wild species. During the first year of RVA surveillance (2018–2019), we have collected 498 faecal samples of mostly healthy red deer (n = 121), roe deer (n = 34), red foxes (n = 192), European jackals (n = 3) and wild boar (n = 148). All samples were submitted to RNA extraction and RVA detection by using real-time RT-PCR (RVA VP2 segment). Positive samples were retested by using various conventional RT-PCR protocols in order to amplify VP7 and VP4 RVA segments. Successfully amplified fragments were sent for direct Sanger sequencing in both directions, which allowed for RVA G and P typing. The results regarding RVA prevalence were in line with the expected values, around 10% in total. In contrast, the genetic diversity was quite remarkable, especially in red foxes, in which we have detected the circulation of 9 G and 5 P RVA genotypes. It is important to note the circulation of 2 potentially novel P and 1 novel G genotype, together with the extremely rare G15 genotype. An interesting finding is the circulation of different RVA genotypes in the red fox, European jackal and wild boar, which are usually present in other mammals. Some of the detected RVA genotypes in wildlife species share a common evolutionary ancestor with human RVA strains ; therefore, their zoonotic potential cannot be excluded. The present work brings an important knowledge on RVA prevalence and genetic diversity in wildlife species which were by now somehow neglected by the scientific community. Consequently, their importance in RVA epidemiology might be underestimated. The future work on elucidating their zoonotic potential is warranted.

Rotavirus A ; Wild animals ; Genotype ; Prevalence ; Croatia

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