State-of-the-Art Animal Virus Research in South Korea

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "General Virology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 11885

Special Issue Editor

Avian Influenza Research & Diagnostic Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, 177 Hyeoksin 8-ro, Gimcheon-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 39660, Korea
Interests: influenza; respiratory viruses; viral genetic diversity and evolution, reverse genetics; gene engineering; pathogenesis; molecular epidemiology; animal studies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Korea has intensive animal production (especially cattle, pig, poultry, etc.) and struggles with several endemic and emerging viruses in the field of animal health. The advanced technology and needs in the prevention and control of infectious diseases in Korea have substantially boosted high-quality research into virology. Over the past few decades, great progress has been made by Korean scientists in research on animal viruses and virus-related disease control, including molecular evolution, pathogenesis, immunology, epidemiology, virus-host interactions, diagnosis, and vaccines.

In this Special Issue of Viruses, we will focus on state-of-the-art animal virology research in Korea. We invite you to submit your most recent research findings and/or insights into this topic. We welcome reviews and original research articles focused on the following topics:

  • Animal viruses;
  • Korean research;
  • Epidemiology;
  • Pathogenesis;
  • Diagnosis;
  • Molecular aspects.

Dr. Yu-Na Lee
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • animal viruses
  • Korean research
  • epidemiology
  • pathogenesis
  • diagnosis
  • molecular aspects
  • virus evolution
  • virus-host interactions
  • prophylaxis and prevention
  • zoonotic potential

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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12 pages, 3037 KiB  
Article
Genetic Diversity of Porcine Group A Rotavirus Strains from Pigs in South Korea
by Gyu-Nam Park, Da In Kim, SeEun Choe, Jihye Shin, Byung-Hyun An, Ki-Sun Kim, Bang-Hun Hyun, Jong-Soo Lee and Dong-Jun An
Viruses 2022, 14(11), 2522; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14112522 - 14 Nov 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1929
Abstract
Porcine group A rotavirus (PoRVA; family, Reovirideae) strains cause acute viral gastroenteritis in piglets (especially suckling and weaned pigs), resulting in significant economic losses. In this study, we analyzed the VP7 and VP4 genes of PoRVA isolated between 2014 and 2018 from [...] Read more.
Porcine group A rotavirus (PoRVA; family, Reovirideae) strains cause acute viral gastroenteritis in piglets (especially suckling and weaned pigs), resulting in significant economic losses. In this study, we analyzed the VP7 and VP4 genes of PoRVA isolated between 2014 and 2018 from domestic pigs in South Korea to investigate the prevalence of predominant circulating genotypes (G and P types). The prevalence of the PoRVA antigen in the diarrheic fecal samples was 14.1% (53/377). Further genetic characterization of the VP7 and VP4 genes of 53 PoRVA isolates identified six different G-genotypes and five different P genotypes. The G4 and G9 genotypes were the most common (each 39.6%) in PoRVA-positive pigs, followed by P[7] and P[6] (33.9% and 30.1%, respectively). Because the G5 and G9 genotype vaccines are currently mainly used in South Korea, this result provides valuable epidemiological information about the genetic characteristics of PoRVA circulating on domestic pig farms. Development of a novel PoRVA vaccine that targets the current strains circulating in South Korea may be required for more effective virus control on pig farms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Animal Virus Research in South Korea)
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12 pages, 2098 KiB  
Article
Comparison of the Virulence of Korean African Swine Fever Isolates from Pig Farms during 2019–2021
by Ki-Hyun Cho, Seong-Keun Hong, Min-Kyung Jang, Ji-Hyoung Ryu, Hyun-Jeong Kim, Yu-Ran Lee, In-Soon Roh, Hyun-Joo Sohn, Hae-Eun Kang and Jee-Yong Park
Viruses 2022, 14(11), 2512; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14112512 - 13 Nov 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2393
Abstract
African swine fever (ASF) was first reported in South Korea in September 2019, and as of 31 December 2021, a total of 21 cases in domestic pig farms and 1875 ASFV-infected wild boars have been confirmed in the country. With the continued circulation [...] Read more.
African swine fever (ASF) was first reported in South Korea in September 2019, and as of 31 December 2021, a total of 21 cases in domestic pig farms and 1875 ASFV-infected wild boars have been confirmed in the country. With the continued circulation of ASF in wild boars, and subsequent outbreaks in domestic pigs, concerns were raised about the possible changes in virulence occurring among African swine fever viruses (ASFV) circulating in South Korea. In this study, four Korean ASFV strains isolated from domestic pig farms at different time points between 2019 and 2021 were chosen, and used to experimentally infect domestic pigs by intramuscular inoculation to compare their virulence. All challenged pigs died at 4–9 days post-inoculation, with many showing clinical symptoms of fever, depression, loss of appetite, and recumbency. Gross lesions observed at necropsy included enlargement and hemorrhage of the lymph nodes and hydropericardium. The study showed that all four Korean ASFV isolates caused acute forms of illness, which supports the view that virulence among the circulating ASFV isolates in South Korea remained unchanged and highly virulent during this period. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Animal Virus Research in South Korea)
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13 pages, 1624 KiB  
Article
Isolation and Genetic Characterization of a Bovine Coronavirus KBR-1 Strain from Calf Feces in South Korea
by Jihye Shin, SeEun Choe, Gyu-Nam Park, Sok Song, Ki-Sun Kim, Byung-Hyun An, Bang-Hun Hyun and Dong-Jun An
Viruses 2022, 14(11), 2376; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14112376 - 27 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2212
Abstract
Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) causes severe diarrhea in neonatal calves, winter dysentery in adult cattle, and respiratory disease in feedlot cattle, resulting in economic losses. A total of 16/140 calf diarrheic feces samples collected in South Korea between 2017 and 2018 were positive for [...] Read more.
Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) causes severe diarrhea in neonatal calves, winter dysentery in adult cattle, and respiratory disease in feedlot cattle, resulting in economic losses. A total of 16/140 calf diarrheic feces samples collected in South Korea between 2017 and 2018 were positive for BCoV. Phylogenetic analysis of the complete spike and hemagglutinin/esterase genes revealed that the 16 Korean BCoV strains belonged to group GIIa along with Korean strains isolated after 2000, whereas Korean BCoV strains isolated before 2000 belonged to group GI. Mice and goats inoculated with an inactivated KBR-1 strain (isolated from this study) generated higher antibody titers (96 ± 13.49 and 73 ± 13.49, respectively) when mixed with the Montanide01 adjuvant than when mixed with the Carbopol or IMS1313 adjuvants. Viral antigens were detected in the large intestine, jejunum, and ileum of calves inoculated with inactivated KBR-1 vaccine (104.0 TCID50/mL) at 14 days of post-challenge (DPC). However, no viral antigens were detected in calves vaccinated with a higher dose of inactivated KBR-1 strain (106.0 TCID50/mL) at 14 DPC, and they had high antibody titers and stable diarrhea scores. Currently, the group GIIa is prevalent in cows in South Korea, and although further research is needed in the future, the recently isolated KBR-1 strain has potential value as a new vaccine candidate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Animal Virus Research in South Korea)
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23 pages, 4143 KiB  
Article
Development of a Next-Generation Vaccine Platform for Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus Using a Reverse Genetics System
by Guehwan Jang, Duri Lee and Changhee Lee
Viruses 2022, 14(11), 2319; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14112319 - 22 Oct 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2658
Abstract
For the past three decades, the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) has remained an enormous threat to the South Korean swine industry. The scarcity of an effective method for manipulating viral genomes has impeded research progress in PEDV biology and vaccinology. Here, we [...] Read more.
For the past three decades, the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) has remained an enormous threat to the South Korean swine industry. The scarcity of an effective method for manipulating viral genomes has impeded research progress in PEDV biology and vaccinology. Here, we report the development of reverse genetics systems using two novel infectious full-length cDNA clones of a Korean highly pathogenic-G2b strain, KNU-141112, and its live attenuated vaccine strain, S DEL5/ORF3, in a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) under the control of a eukaryotic promoter. Direct transfection of cells with each recombinant BAC clone induced cytopathic effects and produced infectious progeny. The reconstituted viruses, icKNU-141112 and icS DEL5/ORF3, harboring genetic markers, displayed phenotypic and genotypic properties identical to their respective parental viruses. Using the DNA-launched KNU-141112 infectious cDNA clone as a backbone, two types of recombinant viruses were generated. First, we edited the open reading frame 3 (ORF3) gene, as cell-adapted strains lose full-length ORF3, and replaced this region with an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene to generate icPEDV-EGFP. This mutant virus presented parental virus-like growth kinetics and stably retained robust EGFP expression, indicating that ORF3 is dispensable for PEDV replication in cell culture and is a tolerant location for exogeneous gene acceptance. However, the plaque size and syncytia phenotypes of ORF3-null icPEDV-EGFP were larger than those of icKNU-141112 but similar to ORF3-null icS DEL5/ORF3, suggesting a potential role of ORF3 in PEDV cytopathology. Second, we substituted the spike (S) gene with a heterologous S protein, designated S51, from a variant of interest (VOI), which was the most genetically and phylogenetically distant from KNU-141112. The infectious recombinant VOI, named icPEDV-S51, could be recovered, and the rescued virus showed indistinguishable growth characteristics compared to icKNU-141112. Virus cross-neutralization and structural analyses revealed antigenic differences in S between icKNU-141112 and icPEDV-S51, suggesting that genetic and conformational changes mapped within the neutralizing epitopes of S51 could impair the neutralization capacity and cause considerable immune evasion. Collectively, while the established molecular clones afford convenient, versatile platforms for PEDV genome manipulation, allowing for corroborating the molecular basis of viral replication and pathogenesis, they also provide key infrastructural frameworks for developing new vaccines and coronaviral vectors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Animal Virus Research in South Korea)
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9 pages, 21483 KiB  
Brief Report
Genetic Characterization of African Swine Fever Virus from Pig Farms in South Korea during Outbreaks in 2019–2021
by Ki-Hyun Cho, Da-Young Kim, Min-Kyung Jang, Seong-Keun Hong, Ji-Hyoung Ryu, Hae-Eun Kang and Jee-Yong Park
Viruses 2022, 14(12), 2621; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14122621 - 24 Nov 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2013
Abstract
In South Korea, a total of 21 African swine fever (ASF) infected farms were confirmed during 2019–2021. ASF viruses (ASFVs) were isolated from the blood and spleen samples of the 21 affected farms and their genetic characteristics were analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that [...] Read more.
In South Korea, a total of 21 African swine fever (ASF) infected farms were confirmed during 2019–2021. ASF viruses (ASFVs) were isolated from the blood and spleen samples of the 21 affected farms and their genetic characteristics were analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the 21 Korean ASFV strains belonged to p72 genotype II and serogroup 8. All isolates were of the intergenic region (IGR) II variant with 10 tandem repeat sequences between I73R and I329L and the central variable region (CVR) 1 variant of the B602L gene. There were no IGR variations between the A179L and A137R and between the MGF 505 9R and10R nor mutations in the O174L, K145R, MGF 505-5R, CP204L, and Bt/Sj regions. The genes of the 21 ASFV strains were identical to those of Georgia 2007/1 and Chinese and Vietnamese strains (Pig/HLJ/2018, China/2018/AnhuiXCGQ, and ASFV_NgheAn_2019); however, X69R of the J268L region of the 18th isolate (Korea/Pig/Goseong/2021) had three nucleotide (CTA) insertions at the 209th position, which led to the addition of one tyrosine (Y) at the C-terminal. This suggests that there are variations among ASFVs circulating in South Korea and the 18th ASFV-infected farm was due to a variant different from those of the other 20 pig farms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Animal Virus Research in South Korea)
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