Molecular identification of bovine papillomaviruses in dairy and beef cattle: first description of Xi- and Epsilonpapillomavirus in Turkey

Abstract

In the current study, 23 papilloma/tumor-like samples obtained from cattle having clinical lesions and 9 blood samples collected from healthy-appearing cattle in Turkey were examined for bovine papillomavirus (BPV) DNA using the degenerate primers FAP59/64, and the different types of BPV were distinguished by type-specific primer sets. Furthermore, histopathological studies of papillomavirus were performed. A total of 7 BPV types (BPVs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9), including genera Deltapapillomavirus, Xipapillomavirus,and Epsilonpapillomavirus, were identified. In all samples, BPV-1 was the most common genotype (90.6%). Overall, coinfections were determined in 26 of the examined samples (81.3%), and coinfection with BPV-1/BPV-4/BPV-8 (21.9%) was the most frequently identified using BPV type-specific primers. Moreover, bovine leukemia virus, an oncogenic retrovirus, was detected from three cattle with tumor-like lesions (13.0%), which were also coinfected by different BPV types. Histopathologically, nine papilloma-like lesions were assessed and diagnosed as five fibropapillomas and four papillomas. BPV infection is an important cause of economic losses in the dairy and beef industry. Our study will be highly useful for guiding further large-scale epidemiological studies and providing detailed data on the risk factors associated with BPV infection in cattle populations in Turkey.

In the current study, 23 papilloma/tumor-like samples obtained from cattle having clinical lesions and 9 blood samples collected from healthy-appearing cattle in Turkey were examined for bovine papillomavirus (BPV) DNA using the degenerate primers FAP59/64, and the different types of BPV were distinguished by type-specific primer sets. Furthermore, histopathological studies of papillomavirus were performed. A total of 7 BPV types (BPVs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9), including genera Deltapapillomavirus, Xipapillomavirus,and Epsilonpapillomavirus, were identified. In all samples, BPV-1 was the most common genotype (90.6%). Overall, coinfections were determined in 26 of the examined samples (81.3%), and coinfection with BPV-1/BPV-4/BPV-8 (21.9%) was the most frequently identified using BPV type-specific primers. Moreover, bovine leukemia virus, an oncogenic retrovirus, was detected from three cattle with tumor-like lesions (13.0%), which were also coinfected by different BPV types. Histopathologically, nine papilloma-like lesions were assessed and diagnosed as five fibropapillomas and four papillomas. BPV infection is an important cause of economic losses in the dairy and beef industry. Our study will be highly useful for guiding further large-scale epidemiological studies and providing detailed data on the risk factors associated with BPV infection in cattle populations in Turkey.