Abstract:
This study presents whole genomes of seven bovine rotavirus strains from South Africa
and Mozambique. Double-stranded RNA, extracted from stool samples without prior adaptation to
cell culture, was used to synthesise cDNA using a self-annealing anchor primer ligated to dsRNA
and random hexamers. The cDNA was subsequently sequenced using an Illumina MiSeq platform
without prior genome amplification. All strains exhibited bovine-like artiodactyl genome constellations (G10/G6-P[11]/P[5]-I2-R2-C2-M2-A3/A11/A13-N2-T6-E2-H3). Phylogenetic analysis revealed
relatively homogenous strains, which were mostly related to other South African animal strains or
to each other. It appears that these study strains represent a specific bovine rotavirus population
endemic to Southern Africa that was derived through multiple reassortment events. While one
Mozambican strain, MPT307, was similar to the South African strains, the second strain, MPT93, was
divergent from the other study strains, exhibiting evidence of interspecies transmission of the VP1
and NSP2 genes. The data presented in this study not only contribute to the knowledge of circulating
African bovine rotavirus strains, but also emphasise the need for expanded surveillance of animal
rotaviruses in African countries in order to improve our understanding of rotavirus strain diversity.
