Molecular characterization of a porcine kobuvirus strain in China

Porcine kobuvirus was first identified in 2007 in Hungary. The virus has been detected in several Asian countries. In our study, the complete genome of the recently identified porcine kobuvirus strain SH-W-CHN was amplified by RT-PCR and was sequenced. Dendrograms indicated that SH-W-CHN is closely related to other porcine kobuviruses. To identify sites of possible recombination within the genome of the SH-W-CHN strain, the SimPlot program was used to perform recombination analysis. The results showed that no significant recombination event between strain S-1-HUN and Y-1-CHI had occurred. However, certain possible recombination signals were identified, indicating that some early recombination events may have contributed to the genome of SH-W-CHN. This study further confirmed the existence of multiple lineages of porcine kobuvirus and indicated that homologous recombination may be a driving force in its evolution.