Genetic variability of the S1 subunit of enteric and respiratory bovine coronavirus isolates

Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) is considered an important pathogen in cattle worldwide. It is a causative agent of enteric and respiratory diseases of cattle. The S1 subunit of the viral S glycoprotein is responsible for virus binding to host-cell receptors, induction of neutralizing antibody and hemagglutinin activity. The entire S1 genomic region (2304 bp) of two enteric bovine coronavirus isolates from Austria, one respiratory and one enteric isolate from Slovakia were analyzed at the genetic level. The comparative analysis of those four isolates revealed 97.1-98.6% similarity at the nucleotide and 95.6-98.6% at the amino acid level. No differences between enteric and respiratory isolates were observed at the genetic level. The isolates were clustered in the phylogenetic tree with European isolates independently of their enteric or respiratory origin.