Domestic dog origin of Carnivore Protoparvovirus 1 infection in a rescued free-ranging guiña (Leopardus guigna) in Chile

Abstract

Carnivore protoparvovirus 1is one of the most important pathogens affecting both wild and domestic carnivores. Here, we reported the genetic characterization of canine parvovirus (CPV-2) strains from a rescued guina (Leopardus guigna) and domestic dogs from Chile. Guina strain was classified as CPV-2c, and phylogenetic analysis of the complete coding genome showed that the guina CPV-2c strain shares a recent common ancestor with Chilean domestic dogs' strains. These viruses showed >99% identity and exhibited three changes in the NS1 protein (V596A, E661K and L582F). This is the first detection and genetic characterization of CPV-2c infection in guina worldwide, and one of the few comparative studies that show the source of infection was domestic dogs. The current findings highlight the fact that guina is a susceptible species to protoparvovirus infection and that domestic dogs represent an important threat to its conservation. The CPV-2 cross-species transmission between domestic dogs and guina should be taken into account for protection programmes of this endangered species.