Molecular detection and sequence analysis of feline Torque teno virus (TTV) in China

In the present study, two isolates (SH-F1 and SH-F2) of Torque teno felis virus (feline TTV) were detected in 16 (12.5%) serum samples collected from cats in China. Their full length genomes were cloned and sequenced. The results showed that they were 2063bp in length and contained three open reading frames (ORFs) (ORF1: nt438-1748, ORF2: nt268-585 and ORF3: nt268-581, 1461-1842). Phylogenetic analysis showed that they were clustered with the strain of Japan (Fc-TTV4, AB076003) and the strain of France (PRA4, EF538878). Sequence analysis indicated that SH-F1 had high (97.5% and 93.3%) identity with the strain of Japan and the strain of France, and SH-F2 shared 94.5% and 92.1% homology with them, respectively. In conclusion, we demonstrated that feline TTV is present in China.