Partial Sequence of the Orf1b Gene Fragment of Equine Arteritis Viruses Detected in Turkey and Phylogenic Analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to document the first genetic information based on partial sequences of the ORF1b gene of nine Turkish (TR) equine arteritis virus (EAV) strains obtained from horses showing signs of respiratory tract disease. Partial sequencing of the PCR products based on ORF1b gene using EAV specific primer pairs followed amplification and purification was performed and was compared to European and American viruses recoded in GenBank to phylogenic analysis. The TR virus strains were found closely related to the strains that originated in North America and exhibited marked sequence heterogeneity from European strains and additionally the TR strains were relatively homogeneous and were placed in a separate cluster. This study documents for the first time the genetic of EAV genotypes in Turkey and will provide valuable insight for future studies on the molecular epidemiology of EAV.