Tracing Viral Transmission and Evolution of Bovine Leukemia Virus through Long Read Oxford Nanopore Sequencing of the Proviral Genome

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) causes Enzootic Bovine Leukosis (EBL), a persistent life-long disease resulting in immune dysfunction and shortened lifespan in infected cattle, severely impacting the profitability of the US dairy industry. Our group has found that 94% of dairy farms in the United States are infected with BLV with an average in-herd prevalence of 46%. This is partly due to the lack of clinical presentation during the early stages of primary infection and the elusive nature of BLV transmission. This study sought to validate a near-complete genomic sequencing approach for reliability and accuracy before determining its efficacy in characterizing the sequence identity of BLV proviral genomes collected from a pilot study made up of 14 animals from one commercial dairy herd. These BLV-infected animals were comprised of seven adult dam/daughter pairs that tested positive by ELISA and qPCR. The results demonstrate sequence identity or divergence of the BLV genome from the same samples tested in two independent laboratories, suggesting both vertical and horizontal transmission in this dairy herd. This study supports the use of Oxford Nanopore sequencing for the identification of viral SNPs that can be used for retrospective genetic contact tracing of BLV transmission.

Download Full-text

Using a Herd Profile to Determine Age-Specific Prevalence of Bovine Leukemia Virus in Michigan Dairy Herds

Veterinary Medicine International ◽

10.1155/2012/350374 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Ronald J. Erskine ◽

Paul C. Bartlett ◽

Todd M. Byrem ◽

Chelsea L. Render ◽

Catherine Febvay ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bovine Leukemia Virus ◽

Leukemia Virus ◽

Malignant Neoplasm ◽

Dairy Herd ◽

Dairy Herds ◽

Management Plans ◽

Milk Elisa ◽

The Mean ◽

Bovine Leukosis ◽

Simple Average

Enzootic bovine leukosis is a contagious disease of cattle caused by the retrovirus, bovine leukemia virus (BLV) and is the most common cause of malignant neoplasm in cattle. In order to facilitate surveillance of this disease in dairy herds, we developed a method to combine ELISA of milk collected during routine production testing with a prescribed sampling of cows that is independent of the proportion of cows within each lactation. In 113 Michigan dairy herds, milk samples from ten cows in each of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and ≥4th lactations were analyzed for anti-Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) antibodies by milk ELISA. For each herd, a BLV herd profile (BHP) was calculated as the simple average of the percent of BLV-positive cows within each of the four lactation groups. The mean BHP for all herds was 32.8%, with means of 18.5, 28.8, 39.2, and 44.8% of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and ≥4th lactation animals infected, respectively. In eight herds, we determined the correlation between the BHP, and true herd prevalence by testing the entire lactating herd (r=0.988, P<0.0001). The BHP allows discrimination of lactation-specific BLV prevalence within a dairy herd, to help identify risk factors and management plans that may be important in transmission of BLV.

Download Full-text

Kinetic Study of BLV Infectivity in BLV Susceptible and Resistant Cattle in Japan from 2017 to 2019

Pathogens ◽

10.3390/pathogens10101281 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 1281

Author(s):

Lanlan Bai ◽

Liushiqi Borjigin ◽

Hirotaka Sato ◽

Shin-Nosuke Takeshima ◽

Sakurako Asaji ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bovine Leukemia Virus ◽

Proviral Load ◽

Leukemia Virus ◽

Horizontal Transmission ◽

Transmission Risk ◽

Strong Positive Correlation ◽

Bovine Lymphocyte ◽

Bovine Leukosis ◽

Kinetics Of

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the causative agent of enzootic bovine leukosis. Polymorphism in bovine lymphocyte antigen (BoLA)-DRB3 alleles is related to susceptibility to BLV proviral load (PVL), which is a useful index for estimating disease progression and transmission risk. However, whether differential BoLA-DRB3 affects BLV infectivity remains unknown. In a three-year follow-up investigation using a luminescence syncytium induction assay for evaluating BLV infectivity, we visualized and evaluated the kinetics of BLV infectivity in cattle with susceptible, resistant and neutral BoLA-DRB3 alleles which were selected from 179 cattle. Susceptible cattle showed stronger BLV infectivity than both resistant and neutral cattle. The order of intensity of BLV infectivity was as follows: susceptible cattle > neutral cattle > resistant cattle. BLV infectivity showed strong positive correlation with PVL at each testing point. BLV-infected susceptible cattle were found to be at higher risk of horizontal transmission, as they had strong infectivity and high PVL, whereas BLV-infected resistant cattle were low risk of BLV transmission owing to weak BLV infection and low PVL. Thus, this is the first study to demonstrate that the BoLA-DRB3 polymorphism is associated with BLV infection.

Download Full-text

Distribution of bovine leukemia virus proviral DNA sequences in tissues of animals with enzootic bovine leukosis

Leukemia Research ◽

10.1016/0145-2126(78)90004-8 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 23-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Richard Kettmann ◽

Arsène Burny ◽

Yvette Cleuter ◽

Jacques Ghysdael ◽

Marc Mammerickx

Keyword(s):

Dna Sequences ◽

Bovine Leukemia Virus ◽

Leukemia Virus ◽

Enzootic Bovine Leukosis ◽

Proviral Dna ◽

Bovine Leukosis

Download Full-text

Enzootic Bovine Leukosis and Bovine Leukemia Virus

Gene Expression in Normal and Transformed Cells ◽

10.1007/978-1-4684-4541-1_11 ◽

1983 ◽

pp. 231-245

Author(s):

G. Marbaix ◽

R. Kettmann ◽

J. Deschamps ◽

D. Couez ◽

M. Mammerickx ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bovine Leukemia Virus ◽

Leukemia Virus ◽

Enzootic Bovine Leukosis ◽

Bovine Leukosis

Download Full-text

Bovine leukemia virus tax gene/Tax protein polymorphism and its relation to Enzootic Bovine Leukosis

Virulence ◽

10.1080/21505594.2019.1708051 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 80-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Irina M. Zyrianova ◽

Svetlana N. Kovalchuk

Keyword(s):

Bovine Leukemia Virus ◽

Leukemia Virus ◽

Protein Polymorphism ◽

Enzootic Bovine Leukosis ◽

Tax Protein ◽

Bovine Leukosis

Download Full-text

Bovine leukemia virus seroprevalence among cattle presented for slaughter in the United States

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation ◽

10.1177/1040638717702183 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 29 (5) ◽

pp. 704-706 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Fernando V. Bauermann ◽

Julia F. Ridpath ◽

David A. Dargatz

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Bovine Leukemia Virus ◽

Leukemia Virus ◽

Economic Loss ◽

The United States ◽

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Dairy Herds ◽

Positive Rate ◽

Dairy Animals ◽

Mountain West

Infection with bovine leukemia virus (BLV) results in economic loss because of reduced productivity, especially reduced milk production, and early culling. In the United States, studies in 1996, 1999, and 2007 showed BLV infection to be widespread, especially in dairy herds. We updated information herein on BLV seroprevalence in the United States, using samples submitted for testing and found negative for antibodies for Brucella by the Kentucky Eastern Regional Federal Brucellosis Laboratory. From October 2014 through August 2015, 2,000 samples from all regions of the contiguous United States were selected and tested for BLV antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The overall percentage of samples positive for BLV antibody was 38.6%. Based on the animal’s origin, the percent positive by region ranged from 32.5% (Mountain West region) to 54.3% (Northeast region; p < 0.05). The positive rate for slaughter plants that processed mainly dairy animals (dairy plants; 47.6%) was higher than the positive rate at slaughter plants that processed mainly beef animals (beef plants; 33.6%; p < 0.05). The results suggest that BLV infection remains widespread in all regions of the United States and that rates may differ between beef and dairy cattle.

Download Full-text

MASKED GENOTYPE 6 OF BOVINE LEUKEMIA VIRUS IS FOUND IN COLOMBIAN CATTLE

10.21203/rs.2.11155/v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Adriana Patricia Corredor-Figueroa ◽

Nury Nathalia Olaya-Galán ◽

Sandra Patricia Salas ◽

Juan Sebastián Quintero ◽

Álvaro Fajardo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variability ◽

Bovine Leukemia Virus ◽

Phylogenetic Analyses ◽

Leukemia Virus ◽

Gene Analysis ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Envelope Gene ◽

Genotype 1 ◽

Global Epidemiology ◽

Bovine Leukosis

Abstract Background Viral diseases such as bovine leukosis are a major cause of health problems associated with economic losses in the livestock industry worldwide. The prevalence of bovine leukosis ranges between 4% and 90%, and this disease is considered endemic. The etiological agent is bovine leukemia virus (BLV). Ten BLV genotypes have been reported based on analysis of complete or partial envelope gene sequences, of which genotype 1 is the most prevalent. However, the genetic variability of BLV variants circulating in Colombia remains unexplored. Therefore, in the present study, we analyzed blood samples collected from 289 cows distributed in 75 farms across the country. PCR amplification of env, gag and tax gene segments was performed. The obtained amplicons were sequenced and then subjected to phylogenetic analyses. Results A total of 62% of the cows present at 92% of the farms were BLV-positive. Genotype 1 was exclusively detected by env and gag gene segments when analyzed using previously reported primers. However, tax gene analysis revealed circulation of genotype 6 variants, which were also detected based on env gene analysis with newly designed primers. These results indicate that current genotyping approaches based on partial env sequencing may bias BLV genetic variability approaches and underestimate the diversity of the detected BLV genotypes. Conclusions This report is the first molecular and epidemiological study of BLV conducted in Colombia and contributes to the global epidemiology of the virus; it also reinforces the great impact of BLV on the country’s livestock and thus is a useful resource for farmers and government entities.

Download Full-text

Bovine leukosis and the possibility to cause cancer in humans: A scientific review

The Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Medicine ◽

10.30539/iraqijvm.v42i1.31 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 52-60

Author(s):

Huda Hameed Kadhim Alabbody

Keyword(s):

Bovine Leukemia Virus ◽

Human Cancer ◽

Leukemia Virus ◽

Cell Leukemia ◽

Scientific Review ◽

Enzootic Bovine Leukosis ◽

Human T Cell ◽

T Cell Leukemia Virus ◽

Bovine Leukosis ◽

Control And Eradication

This review was made to explore the recent multiple studies on enzootic bovine leukosis, focusing on its prevalence, economic impact, the link with public health and the possibility to cause cancer in humans. The causative agent of enzootic bovine leukosis is a virus closely related to human T- cell leukemia virus (HTLV-1). The closeness between the two viruses helps the progress of cancer research in diagnosis and treatment, also the development of a vaccine in both human and veterinary medicine .The enzootic bovine leukosis is widely spread in the continents. The economic loses of enzootic bovine leukosis is related to the lowered productivity of effected cattle, morbidity, mortality and cost of control and eradication. This review proved that bovine leukemia virus is innocent from human cancer infection and there is no proof of virus living in human tissues. But this subject needs a lot of research to know the mechanism of the virus and its affects in cellular content of the organism.

Download Full-text

First Report of Bovine Leukemia Virus Infection in Yaks (Bos mutus) in China

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2016/9170167 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-4 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jian-Gang Ma ◽

Wen-Bin Zheng ◽

Dong-Hui Zhou ◽

Si-Yuan Qin ◽

Ming-Yang Yin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Bovine Leukemia Virus ◽

Leukemia Virus ◽

Northwest China ◽

Gansu Province ◽

Serum Samples ◽

First Report ◽

Elisa Kit ◽

Bovine Leukosis ◽

Positive Results

Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) is a chronic lymphosarcoma disease of cattle caused by bovine leukemia virus (BLV). No information is available concerning the epidemiology of BLV infection in yaks (Bos mutus). One thousand five hundred and eighty-four serum samples from 610 black yaks and 974 white yaks from Gansu province, northwest China, were collected between April 2013 and March 2014 and tested for BLV antibodies using a commercially available ELISA kit. The overall BLV seroprevalence in yaks was 21.09% (334/1584), with 24.26% (148/610) black yaks and 19.10% (186/974) white yaks yielding positive results. Risk factor analysis indicated that with the exception of breed (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.06–1.73,P<0.05), the age, region, gender, farm, and the numbers of pregnancies were not considered as risk factors for the presence of BLV in yaks included in this study. This is the first report of BLV infection in yaks in China, which provides information for controlling BLV infection in yaks.

Download Full-text