Genetic analysis of Torque teno canis virus identified in Korea

Abstract The Torque teno canis virus (TTCaV) is a 2.8 kb-long circular single-stranded DNA virus that has been reported to cause infections in dogs. In this study, 135 fecal samples of dogs were collected in South Korea to determine TTCaV infection status. When the prevalence was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), 17 of 135 (12.6%) patients tested positive for TTCaV. Three full genetic sequences (GenBank IDs: MZ503910, MZ503911, and MZ503912) and 12 ORF1 sequences (GenBank IDs: MZ503913–MZ503924) were obtained from the 17 fecal specimens. Sequence identity, phylogenetic, similarity plot, and recombination analyses were performed using the three full TTCaV genomes. One (MZ503912) of the three TTCaVs was found to be a recombinant virus when analyzed with their full genomic sequences. The recombinant virus might have been generated between one TTCaV strain, KX827768, discovered in China, and MZ503910, which was identified in Korea. This is the first report to determine the prevalence, genetic variation, and recombination of TTCaVs in dogs in Korea. Our study demonstrated that TTCaV exists in Korea. Further studies are needed on the pathogenesis of TTCaV in dogs.