Molecular analysis of S gene of spike glycoprotein of winter dysentery bovine coronavirus circulated in Korea during 2002–2003

Since the molecular analysis of spike (S) glycoprotein gene of bovine coronavirus (BCoV) has been conducted and compared mainly among American and Canadian isolates and/or strains, it is unclear whether BCoV circulated in the other countries are distinctive in genetic characteristics. In the present study, we analyzed the S glycoprotein gene to characterize 10 winter dysentery (WD) coronavirus strains circulated in Korea during 2002–2003 and compared the nucleotide (nt) and deduced amino acid (aa) sequences with the other known BCoV. The phylogenetic analysis of the entire S glycoprotein gene revealed that the aa sequences of all Korean WD strains were more homologous to each other and were very closely related to respiratory bovine coronavirus (RBCV) strain OK and enteric bovine coronavirus (EBCV) strain LY-138, but were distinct from the other known BCoVs. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of the hypervariable region of the S1 subunit, all Korean WD strains clustered with the respiratory strain OK, BCQ3994 and the enteric strain LY-138, while the Canadian BCQ calf diarrhea and WD strains, and the American RBCV LSU, French EBCV F15 and avirulent VACC, L9, and Mebus strains clustered on a separate major branch. These data suggest that the WD strains circulated in Korea had a genetic property of both RBCV and EBCV and were significantly distinct from the ancestral enteric strain.