Characterization of a recombinant Newcastle disease virus expressing the glycoprotein of bovine ephemeral fever virus

Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) is caused by the arthropod-borne bovine ephemeral fever virus (BEFV), which is a member of the family Rhabdoviridae and the genus Ephemerovirus. BEFV causes an acute febrile infection in cattle and water buffalo. In this study, a recombinant Newcastle disease virus (NDV) expressing the glycoprotein (G) of BEFV (rL-BEFV-G) was constructed, and its biological characteristics in vitro and in vivo, pathogenicity, and immune response in mice and cattle were evaluated. BEFV G enabled NDV to spread from cell to cell. rL-BEFV-G remained nonvirulent in poultry and mice compared with vector LaSota virus. rL-BEFV-G triggered a high titer of neutralizing antibodies against BEFV in mice and cattle. These results suggest that rL-BEFV-G might be a suitable candidate vaccine against BEF.