Wilder than intense: higher frequency, variability, and viral flows of porcine circovirus 3 in wild boars and rural farms compared to intensive ones in northern Italy

Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbiology

Mariangela Dal Maso¹  Giacomo Berto¹  Viviana Genna²  Mattia Cecchinato³  Claudia Maria Tucciarone³  Giulia Faustini³  Giovanni Franzo³  Francesca Poletto³  Michele Drigo³  Maria Luisa Menandro³  Matteo Legnardi³ 

[1] AULSS 8 Berica, Dip di Prevenzione, Servizi Veterinari, Vicenza, Italy;Azienda Ulss 9 Scaligera, Verona, Italy;Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padova, Legnaro, Padua, Italy;

关键词: PCV-3;    wild boar;    rural pig;    molecular epidemiology;    phylogenetics;    virus;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmicb.2023.1234393

 received in 2023-06-04, accepted in 2023-07-17,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionPorcine circovirus 3 (PCV-3) was firstly reported in 2017. Although evidence of its pathogenic role has been provided, its clinical relevance seems lower than Porcine circovirus 2 (PCV-2), as well as its evolutionary rate. Different studies have reported a high PCV-3 prevalence in wild boars, sometimes higher than the one observed in commercial pigs. Nevertheless, to date, few studies have objectively investigated the relationships between these populations when inhabiting the same area. Moreover, the role of small-scale, backyard pig production in PCV-3 epidemiology is still obscure.MethodsThe present study investigated PCV-3 occurrence in 216 samples collected from the same area of Northern Italy from commercial and rural pigs, and wild boars. PCV-3 presence was tested by qPCR and complete genome or ORF2 sequences were obtained when possible and analysed using a combination of statistical, phylogenetic and phylodynamic approaches.ResultsA higher infection risk in wild boars and rural pigs compared to the commercial ones was demonstrated. The phylodynamic analysis confirmed a larger viral population size in wild and rural populations and estimated a preferential viral flow from these populations to commercial pigs. A significant flow from wild to rural animals was also proven. The analysis of the Italian sequences and the comparison with a broader international reference dataset highlighted the circulation of a highly divergent clade in Italian rural pigs and wild boars only.DiscussionOverall, the present study results demonstrate the role of non-commercial pig populations in PCV-3 maintenance, epidemiology and evolution, which could represent a threat to intensive farming.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Franzo, Faustini, Legnardi, Berto, Dal Maso, Genna, Menandro, Poletto, Cecchinato, Drigo and Tucciarone.