Novel Nsp2 deletion based on molecular epidemiology and evolution of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in Shandong Province from 2013 to 2014

- We determined the molecular epidemiology of PRRSV in different parts of China's Shandong Province.
- Eight strains showed considerable homology with a U.S. vaccine strain, Ingelvac MLV.
- One novel pattern of deletion was observed in Nsp2.
- Eight isolates formed a tightly clustered branch, subgroup V, which resembled but differed from isolate VR-2332.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is an economically important swine disease affecting swine worldwide. In this study, a total of 385 samples were collected from Shandong pig farms during 2013 and 2014, when pigs were not inoculated with any vaccine. Results indicated that, out of 385 samples, 47 (12.21%) were PRRSV-RNA-positive. The gene sequence analysis of 12 ORF5, 12 ORF7, and 8 Nsp2 of these samples was used to determine the molecular epidemiology of PRRSV in different parts of China's Shandong Province. The phylogenetic tree based on these 3 genes indicated that the Chinese PRRSV strains could be divided into five subgroups and two large groups. The 8 study strains were clustered into subgroup IV, another 4 strains into subgroup I. The first 8 strains shared considerable homology with VR-2332 in ORF5 (96-97.5%), the other 4 strains shared considerable homology with JXA1 (94-98%). Phylogenetic tree of GP5 showed that the eight isolates formed a tightly novel clustered branch, subgroup V, which resembled but differed from isolate VR-2332. When examined using Nsp2 alone, the first 8 strains showed considerable homology with a U.S. vaccine strain, Ingelvac MLV (89.6-98.4%). One novel pattern of deletion was observed in Nsp2. The genetic diversity of genotype 2 PRRSV tended to vary in the field. The emergence of novel variants will probably be the next significant branch of PRRSV study.