Genotypic Diversity of the Complete Open-Reading Frame 7 Sequences of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Viruses in Korea and Coexistence of Two Genotypes

To investigate the genotypic diversity of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses (PRRSV) in Korea, we examined 92 clinical samples from three provinces by RT-PCR and a nested PCR, and the complete open-reading frame 7 (ORF 7) sequences of 15 samples selected from 72 PCR-positive specimens were analyzed. When we compared nucleotide (amino acid) sequences of 80 isolates from Korea and overseas countries, the sequences of 7 samples belonged to North American (NA)-genotype, and those of 8 samples, to European (EU)-genotype. The nucleotide (amino acid) identities between two genotypes were 63.7% (59.8%) to 65.1% (63.1%). When compared with NA prototype VR-2332, the 7 strains of NA-genotype shared 89.8% (93.6%) to 91.2% (96.0%) identity of nucleotide (amino acid) sequence. The 8 strains of EU-type shared 93.6% (92.3%) to 94.3% (93.8%) identity of nucleotide (amino acid) sequence as compared to EU prototype Lelystad. In phylogenetic tree analysis by neighbor-joining method, all of the 8 EU-type strains were clustered into group 4 distinct from ED-prototype Lelystad (group 1). In NA-genotype, 24 domestic isolates reported previously and the 7 strains of NA-type determined in this study were clustered into group 1, while US prototype VR 2332 was classified into different group (group 2). These results suggest that emergence of EU-genotype and the dual-infection of NA- and EU-genotypes may be prevalent in the pig farms in Korea. The high degree of genetic diversity of field PRRSVs should be taken into consideration for control and preventive measures.