Phylogenetic analysis of peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) isolated in Iran based on partial sequence data from the fusion (F) protein gene

In order to gain some insight into the origin of the peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) isolated in Iran, a selected region of the PPRV genome in a clinical sample collected from a sheep was amplified using RT-PCR, and the resulting amplicon was sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. The partial nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequence of the Iranian isolate was aligned with the corresponding sequences of 16 previously published F genes. Sequence analysis of the strains showed that the Iranian isolate had the highest degree of homology with the majority of the strains, with the exception of Nigerian isolates and ICV89. In general, a higher degree of amino acid sequence conservation was observed among the various strains of field PPRV. Phylogenetic comparison of the Iranian isolate, along with some published exotic sequences, indicated that the virus has been circulating for years in Iran's neighboring countries, including Turkey and Pakistan. Overall analysis of the amino acid and nucleotide substitutions showed that ICV89 from Ivory Coast was more prone to sequence alterations than the others were. The phylogenetic tree created for F protein nucleotide data was divided into 4 separate lineages. All strains were conserved within the cleavage site of the amino acid sequence, except for Mdn96. Analysis of the sequence data showed that PPRV circulation has been homologous in Asian countries. Determination of the nucleotide sequence of the partial F protein of the Iranian isolate would help clarify the origin of the disease.