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Journal of Virology, April 2006, p. 4047-4060, Vol. 80, No. 8
0022-538X/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.80.8.4047-4060.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Analysis of Equid Herpesvirus 1 Strain Variation Reveals a Point Mutation of the DNA Polymerase Strongly Associated with Neuropathogenic versus Nonneuropathogenic Disease Outbreaks

J. Nugent,1 I. Birch-Machin,1,{dagger} K. C. Smith,1 J. A. Mumford,1,{ddagger} Z. Swann,1,§ J. R. Newton,1 R. J. Bowden,2 G. P. Allen,3 and N. Davis-Poynter1*

Animal Health Trust, Kentford, Newmarket, United Kingdom,1 Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom,2 Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, Lexington, Kentucky3

Received 10 September 2005/ Accepted 12 January 2006

Equid herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) can cause a wide spectrum of diseases ranging from inapparent respiratory infection to the induction of abortion and, in extreme cases, neurological disease resulting in paralysis and ultimately death. It has been suggested that distinct strains of EHV-1 that differ in pathogenic capacity circulate in the field. In order to investigate this hypothesis, it was necessary to identify genetic markers that allow subgroups of related strains to be identified. We have determined all of the genetic differences between a neuropathogenic strain (Ab4) and a nonneuropathogenic strain (V592) of EHV-1 and developed PCR/sequencing procedures enabling differentiation of EHV-1 strains circulating in the field. The results indicate the occurrence of several major genetic subgroups of EHV-1 among isolates recovered from outbreaks over the course of 30 years, consistent with the proposal that distinct strains of EHV-1 circulate in the field. Moreover, there is evidence that certain strain groups are geographically restricted, being recovered predominantly from outbreaks occurring in either North America or Europe. Significantly, variation of a single amino acid of the DNA polymerase is strongly associated with neurological versus nonneurological disease outbreaks. Strikingly, this variant amino acid occurs at a highly conserved position for herpesvirus DNA polymerases, suggesting an important functional role.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7UU, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 8700 502460, ext. 1280. Fax: 44 8700 502461. E-mail: nick.davis-poynter{at}aht.org.uk.

{dagger} Present address: Department of Anatomy, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DY, United Kingdom.

{ddagger} Present address: Cambridge University Veterinary School, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

§ Present address: Lab 21 Ltd., Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Journal of Virology, April 2006, p. 4047-4060, Vol. 80, No. 8
0022-538X/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.80.8.4047-4060.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Leutenegger, C. M., Madigan, J. E., Mapes, S., Thao, M., Estrada, M., Pusterla, N. (2008). Detection of EHV-1 neuropathogenic strains using real-time PCR in the neural tissue of horses with myeloencephalopathy. Vet Rec. 162: 688-689 [Full Text]  
  • Allen, G. P. (2007). Development of a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for rapid diagnosis of neuropathogenic strains of equine herpesvirus-1. jvdi 19: 69-72 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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