M gene evolution of canine coronavirus in naturally infected dogs

Two stray pups (A and B), three and five months old, respectively, both naturally infected with canine coronavirus (CCoV), were studied for 180 days. The virus was detected intermittently in the pups' faeces by PCR for periods of 156 and 146 days, respectively. Sequence analysis of a fragment of the gene encoding the M protein revealed that the viruses detected at the onset of the infection were very similar to typical strains of CCoV, whereas from 42 days after infection in pup A and 40 days after infection in pup B the viruses had nucleotide and amino acid mutations resembling sequences in feline coronavirus.