Abstract
Porcine circovirus-like agents comprise two types of viruses: porcine
circovirus-like viruses (P1, P2, P3, and P4) and porcine circovirus-like
mini agents (PCVL258, PCVL264, PCVL201, and PCVL347). Of these, P1 has
been identified in pigs, cattle, goats, and rabbits in China; P2, P3,
P4, PCVL258, and PCVL264 have been identified in pigs; and PCVL201 and
PCVL347 have been identified in cattle. The purpose of this study was to
determine whether dogs and cats have been exposed to porcine
circovirus-like agents. We screened 158 serum samples from diseased dogs
and 41 from cats in China by PCR and nucleotide sequencing. In dogs,
approximately 18% (n=28) were positive for P1, 17% (n=26) for PCVL258,
and 9% (n=14) for PCVL264; in cats, 17.1% (n=7) were positive for P1,
9.8% (n=4) for P4, and 14.6% (n=6) for PCVL258. The P1 genomes in this
study consisted of 648 nucleotides (nt), and shared 96.8 to 100% nt
identity with other P1 genomes in GenBank. The P4 genome shared 98.3 to
100% nt identity with other reported P4 genomes, and PCVL258 and
PCVL264 showed 100% nt identity with previously reported genomes. To
our knowledge, this is the first report on molecular characterization of
porcine circovirus-like agents in dogs and cats. Further studies are
needed to clarify the epidemiology, evolution, and pathogenesis of
porcine circovirus-like agents in dogs and cats.