J Gen Virol. 2011 Feb 23. [Epub ahead of print]
Molecular characterization of a new alphacoronavirus species
associated with mink epizootic catarrhal gastroenteritis.

Vlasova AN, Halpin R, Wang S, Ghedin E, Spiro DJ, Saif LJ.
Food Animal Health Research Program, OARDC, Ohio State University;

Abstract
A coronavirus (CoV) previously shown to be associated with catarrhal
gastroenteritis in mink (Mustela vison) was identified by electron
microscopy (EM) in mink feces from two fur farms in Wisconsin and
Minnesota in 1998. We initially used our pancorona and genus-specific
RT-PCR assays and demonstrated that the newly discovered mink CoVs
(MCoVs) are alphacoronaviruses. Subsequently, using a random RT-PCR
approach, we generated full-genomic sequences and further confirmed
that phylogenetically MCoVs belong to alphacoronavirus genus with the
closest relatedness to the recently identified but only partially
sequenced (fragments of polymerase, and full-length spike, 3c,
envelope, nucleoprotein, membrane, 3x and 7b genes) ferret enteric and
systemic coronavirus (FRECV and FRSCV). Molecular data presented in
this study provides the first genetic evidence for a new coronavirus
associated with epizootic catarrhal gastroenteritis outbreaks in mink
and demonstrates that MCoVs possess high genomic variability and
relatively low overall nucleotide sequence identities (91.7%) between
contemporary strains. Additionally, the new MCoVs appear to be
phylogenetically distant from human (229E and NL63) and other
alphacoronaviruses and do not belong to alphacoronavirus 1 species.
We propose that with the partially sequenced FRECV, they comprise a
new species within the alphacoronavirus genus.

PMID: 21346029 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
On change for its own sake: "You can go really fast if you just jump
off the cliff." (2010, Steve Crandall)

[Posted in FML 6985]