Identification and Genomic Characterization of Bovine Boosepivirus A in the United States and Canada

Abstract

Boosepivirus is a new genus in the Picornaviridae family. Boosepiviruses (BooVs) are genetically classified into three species: A, B, and C. Initially, Boosepivirus A and B were identified in cattle, whereas Boosepivirus C was detected in sheep. Recent evidence showed that Boosepivirus B was detected in sheep and Boosepivirus C was identified in goats, suggesting that Boosepvirus might cross the species barrier to infect different hosts. Different from BooV B, BooV A is less studied. In the present study, we reported identification of two North American BooV A strains from cattle. Genomic characterization revealed that US IL33712 (GenBank accession #PP035161) and Canada 1087562 (GenBank accession #PP035162) BooV A strains are distantly related to each other, and US IL33712 is more closely correlated to two Asian BooV A strains. US-strain-specific insertions, NorthAmerican-strain-specific insertions, and species A-specific insertions are observed and could contribute to viral pathogenicity and host adaptation. Our findings highlight the importance of continued surveillance of BooV A in animals.