Abstract
Background: Porcine sapelovirus (PSV) infection can lead severe polioencephalomyelitis with high morbidity and mortality, which result in significant economic losses. Infection with the PSV is believed to be common yet limited information is available on the prevalence and molecular characterization of PSV in China. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize the prevalence and genome of PSV strains identified in the western Jiangxi province of China. Results: A high specificity and sensitivity SYBR Green I-based RT-PCR method for PSV detection was developed. Two hundred and ninety four fecal samples were collected from December 2018 to March 2019 in 4 farms. An overall PSV-positivity rate of 11.22% (33/294) was detected with the real-time RT-PCR method, and a high infection rate and viral load of PSV were found in nursery pigs. In total, complete VP1 gene sequences of 11 PSV strains (PSV-YCs) were obtained. Homology comparisons of the VP1 gene of the 11 PSV-YCs with previously reported PSVs revealed nucleotide sequence identities ranging from 63% to 96.8%, and deduced amino acid sequence identities from 61.4% to 99.7%. Phylogenetic analyses based on the VP1 gene exhibited 2 main clades corresponding to PSV-1 and PSV-2, and all PSV-YCs prevalent in western Jiangxi belonged to the traditional genotype (PSV-1). In addition, the pairwise distances of VP1 gene sequences between PSV-YCs ranged from 0.009 to 0.198, which indicating that substantial genetic diversity among the PSVs in western Jiangxi. Conclusions: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first description of PSV in the Jiangxi province pig herds in China, and it is crucial to understand the epidemiology of the viruses in China. The results also provide an important theoretical foundation for diagnosis and early warning of epidemic diseases caused by PSVs prevailing in this region.