Phylogenetic Analysis and Genetic Characterization of Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus G Glycoprotein / Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus G Glycoproteininin Filogenetik ve Analizi ve Genetik Karakterizasyonu

This study aimed to molecularly detect Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV) in cattle with clinical signs of respiratory system infection and to conduct a phylogenetic analysis of the detected strains. To detect the pathogen, nasal swab samples collected from 96 cattle were subjected to Reverse Transcriptase – nested PCR using specific primer sets. As a result of the molecular techniques, viral nucleic acid was detected in 2.08% (2/96) of the samples. Additionally, sequence and phylogenetic analyses of the detected local variant were performed and compared with various BRSV strains identified in different regions of Turkey and around the world. The genetic data obtained revealed that the isolates identified in this study belong to Subgroup III, alongside BRSV strains reported from various regions of Turkey, France, and the USA. Immunologically significant point mutations were detected in the immunodominant G glycoprotein region of the variant (Asn(N)179 → Asp(D) / Ala(A) 205 → Thr (T)). This result indicates that BRSV strains circulating among cattle can escape the host immune system without losing their pathogenicity and is considered to be one of the important factors that can cause respiratory system infection outbreaks in cattle.