Pathogenicity and immunogenicity of a gI/gE/TK/UL13-gene-deleted variant pseudorabies virus strain in swine

Pseudorabies is a highly infectious disease with severe clinical symptoms, causing acute death in infected pigs and leading to substantial economic losses among swine producers. In this study, a vaccine candidate strain in which the protein kinase UL13 gene was deleted was constructed with the CRISPR/Cas9 system based on the recombinant pseudorabies virus (PRV) ZJ01-AgI/gE/TK. Pigs immunized with ZJ01-AgI/gE/TK or ZJ01-AgI/gE/ TK/UL13 produced high levels of anti-gB antibodies and virus-neutralizing antibodies. ZJ01-AgI/gE/TK/UL13 provided greater protective efficacy against challenge with PRV variant strain ZJ01 than did Bartha-K61 or ZJ01AgI/gE/TK. The pigs vaccinated with ZJ01-AgI/gE/TK/UL13 excreted significantly less virus than those vaccinated with Bartha-K61 or ZJ01-AgI/gE/TK. The viral loads in the lungs of pigs treated with ZJ01-AgI/gE/TK/ UL13 were lower than those in pigs treated with ZJ01-AgI/gE/TK after challenge with PRV variant strain ZJ01. These data indicated that ZJ01-AgI/gE/TK/UL13 had greater protective efficacy and safety than the commercial ZJ01-AgI/gE/TK and Bartha-K61 vaccines, and could be developed as a promising vaccine candidate for the prevention and control of this disease.