Phylogenetic analysis of Iran capripoxvirus isolates during 2013-2016

Capripoxvirus (CaPV) genus of Poxviridae family comprises three closely related viruses, namely sheeppox virus (SPV), goatpox virus (GPV) and lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) causing sheeppox and goatpox and lumpy skin disease of cattle, respectively, with significant economic impact on livestock in endemic areas. Sheeppox and goatpox are endemic for many past years, and Lumpy skin disease emergently occurred in recent years in Iran. Since capripoxviruses are morphologically and antigenically identical discrimination of them relies exclusively on the use of molecular tools. The aim of this study is the molecular characterization of Iran capripoxviruses based on sequence analysis of the chemokine receptor (CKR) homologue gene. For this purpose, 16 capripoxvirus isolates consist of 10 SPV, 4 GPV and 2 LSDV isolates from different parts of Iran during 2013-2016 were used. CKR genes of isolates were amplified by PCR and cloned to pTZ57R/T vector. They were sequenced and analyzed by comparing to those of CaPVs available in the Genbank. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis showed that Iran SPV isolates with more than 99% identity were grouped on the same SPV clade retrieved from Genbank, except for Oman SPV. Iran GPV isolates with 98-99% identity were clustered with those of other countries and furthermore, with India and Bangladesh GPV isolates showed the same genetic profile. Iran LSDV isolates were 99-100% identical with other LSDs in the same clade. Conclusively, Iran SPV, GPV, and LSDV isolates are quite different based on sequence analysis of the CKR gene.