Caracterização molecular do vírus da raiva isolado de Desmodus rotundus capturados no Estado do Rio de Janeiro / Molecular characterization of rabies virus isolated from Desmodus rotundus captured in Rio de Janeiro State

Caracterizou-se filogeneticamente o vírus da raiva, isolado de morcegos hematógafos (Demodus rotundus). Cento e noventa e nove D. rotundus foram capturados em cinco abrigos, no Norte e Noroeste do Estado do Rio de Janeiro e sul do Espírito Santo. Sete deles foram positivos para a raiva. Amostras desses vírus foram sequenciadas e comparadas com sequências provenientes de diversos estados brasileiros. As sequências de vírus da raiva isoladas, na região norte do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, mostraram características que as distinguem de amostras de vírus isoladas em outras regiões do país, no entanto foram idênticas às isoladas de bovinos no noroeste do Rio de Janeiro.

Rabies samples isolated from vampire bats captured in the Rio de Janeiro State were phylogenetically analyzed. One hundred and ninety nine vampire bats were captured from five shelters from North and Northwest of Rio de Janeiro and South of Espírito Santo States. Seven of them were positive for rabies. Theses samples were sequenced and compared with rabies virus sequences from several Brazilian states. The sequences of rabies virus, isolated in the present work, from North of Rio de Janeiro State, showed characteristics that differ of the sequences isolated from bats from other Brazilian regions. However, they were identical to samples isolated from cattle in Northwest of Rio de Janeiro state.

Molecular analysis of the N gene of canine distemper virus in dogs in Brazil

Eleven central-nervous-system samples collected from stray dogs between 2000 and 2004 were found positive by RT-PCR, which amplified a 480bp fragment of the N gene of canine distemper virus (CDV). Phylogenetic analysis based on partial N-gene sequences showed four major clusters. All dog strains segregated into cluster I, with a mean nucleotide identity of 95.8 percent and 95.6 percent with the Onderstepoort and Lederle vaccine strains, respectively. Cluster II contained all the raccoon-related strains, cluster III Orient strains and Cluster IV the Onderstepoort and Lederle vaccine strains, with a mean nucleotide identity of 99.7 percent between them. This is the first report of phylogenetic analysis of CDV strains in Brazil.

Onze amostras de sistema nervoso central de cães coletados entre 2000 e 2004 foram positivas pela RT-PCR, a qual amplificou um fragmento de 480pb do gene N do vírus da cinomose canina (VCC). A análise filogenética baseada na seqüência parcial do gene N mostrou quatro principais agrupamentos genéticos. Todas as amostras de cães segregaram no agrupamento I, com identidade média de nucleotídeos de 95,8 por cento e 95,6 por cento com as amostras vacinais Onderstepoort e Lederle, respectivamente. O agrupamento II agregou todas as amostras relacionadas aos guaxinins. O agrupamento III agregou amostras orientais e o agrupamento IV agregou as amostras vacinais Onderstepoort e Lederle, com identidade média de nucleotídeos de 99,7 por cento entre elas. Este é o primeiro relato de análise filogenética de amostras de VCC no Brasil.

Construction of a recombinant plasmid pSH-G containing the rabies-virus glycoprotein G gene

A plasmid named pSH-G was constructed with the rabies-virus G-gene insert. This plasmid was transfected into eukaryotic BHK-21 cells and its stability tested. The presence of the pSH-G plasmid was confirmed by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) after each of ten cell passages, and the results were positive. The stable BHK-21/pSH-G+ clone obtained can be used in the study of rabies as well as in the production of vaccines.