Complete Genome Sequence of a Rabies Virus Isolate from a Ferret Badger (Melogale moschata) in Jiangxi, China.

The genome of ferret badger rabies virus JX09-17(fb), isolated in Jiangxi Province, China, in 2009 has been completely sequenced. The genomic length is 11, 923 nucleotides (nt) with an overall organization similar to that of other rabies virus isolates. JX09-17(fb) is closely related to Chinese epidemic canine isolates in clade I.

GENOME ANNOUNCEMENT

Rabies virus is the prototypical neurotropic virus and has a small, negative-stranded RNA genome of about 12 kb, which encodes five proteins in the order 3′-N–P-M-G-L-5′ (1). Rabies remains a public health problem worldwide because of its high fatality rate, global distribution, and human health costs. In China, ferret badgers (Melogale moschata) are a major reservoir. Our previous epidemiological study showed that ferret badger (FB) rabies has likely developed as an independent enzootic cycle of rabies infestation in southeast China (2, 3).

JX09-17(fb) was isolated from the brain of a ferret badger captured in Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province, China, in February 2009 (4). Initial phylogenetic analysis of full N and G gene sequences confirmed that this virus was most closely related to the other epidemic canine isolates from China and placed in clade I (4, 5). Of note is that JX09-17(fb) contains an R333Q substitution within its glycoprotein antigenic site III while still possessing high virulence in suckling and adult mice (4). The amino acids R333 and K333 on the glycoprotein of the rabies virus (RV) have been identified as necessary for virulence in adult mice (6, 7); however, several recent reports showed that RV pathogenicity is not absolutely dependent on substitution at amino acid position 333 of the glycoprotein (8–12).

In the present report we provide the complete genomic sequence of JX09-17(fb). Total RNA of infected mouse brains was extracted with TRIzol (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Reverse transcription (RT)-PCR was performed with nine pairs of primer sets designed based on rabies strain BD06 sequences available from GenBank. The PCR products were purified and cloned into the pMD18-T vector (TaKaRa, Dalian, China). Selected positively identified clones were sequenced at least twice in both directions (Nanjing Genscript Biological Technology Co., Ltd., China). Similarity scores and percentage identities were determined using DNASTAR.

The whole-genome length of JX09-17(fb) was found to be 11,923 nucleotides, with genomic organization similar to previously sequenced rabies virus genomes: N gene, 1, 353 nt; P gene, 894 nt; M gene, 609 nt; G gene, 1, 575 nt; L gene, 6,387 nt. Compared with Chinese street isolates and vaccine strains, the strain JX09-17(fb) showed 83 to 97% nucleotide identity. JX09-17(fb) was closely related to some Chinese epidemic isolates (BD06, ZJ-QZ, GC07, and Shaanxi-HZ-6) from dogs and genetically independent of other ferret badger isolates (JX08-45, JX08-47, JX08-48, ZJ-LA, and F04) in Jiangxi and Zhejiang province.

Nucleotide sequence accession number.

The complete genomic sequence of JX09-17(fb) has been deposited in GenBank under the accession number KC762941.