Molecular characterization of VP4 and NSP4 genes from rotavirus strains infecting neonates and young children in Belém, Brazil

Several reports have identified P[6] specificities in humans and in animals in different countries of the world, but few sequence data are available in public databases. In this work we have characterized the VP4 strains bearing P[6] specificity and NSP4 genotypes among diarrheic young children and diarrheic and non-diarrheic neonates from three studies previously conducted in Belém, Northern region of Brazil. As the to VP8* fragment, we observed a close relationship to both human prototypes of lineage P[6]-Ia (bootstrap of 99%) and porcine sublineages Ib and Ic (89.2–98.1% aa similarity and mean of 95%). With regards to the NSP4, the samples clustered into genotypes A and B. Of note, of the 27 P[6] strains analyzed in the present study and classified as genotype B, 8 (29.6%) were more similar to porcine prototypes when VP8* and NSP4 genes are compared, and were recovered, one from a neonate and seven from diarrheic children. These preliminary findings reinforce that further investigations are needed to assess the relative frequencies of P[6] strains in our region, as well as to investigate the potential for interspecies transmission involving humans and animals, particularly pigs.