Molecular characterization and analysis of equine rotavirus circulating in Japan from 2003 to 2008

Using a total of 2018 fecal samples collected between 2003 and 2008 from foals with diarrhea, the molecular epidemiology of group A equine rotaviruses circulating in Japan was investigated by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) typing and sequence analysis of the VP4 (P type) and VP7 (G type) genes. A total of 1149 samples showed positive reactions with RT-PCR, of which 462 samples (40.2%) were positive for G3 type, 502 samples (43.7%) were positive for G14 type, and 185 samples (16.1%) were positive for both G3 and G14 types. To examine P types, 59 G3 and 56 G14 positive samples were used. The majority of the samples (96.5%) were characterized as P[12] type. In a phylogenetic analysis, the VP4 gene of the P[12] type in Japan was found to be conserved for a long time. The VP7 sequences of the G3 type were found to be clustered in the same group as the HO-5 strain, which is a G3 strain that was isolated in 1982 in Japan. In contrast, the VP7 sequences of the G14 type, which were in circulation between 2003 and 2008, were clustered differently from those of the G14 type strains isolated in Japan in the late 1990 s. These results suggest that the VP7 gene of the G3 type has been conserved over 25 years, while the VP7 gene of the G14 type circulating between 2003 and 2008 appears to have re-emerged in or invaded Japan around 2000.