Characterization and hypervariable region analysis of two feline calicivirus isolates from cheetah and tiger

Saliva of a cheetah and a tiger from Shanghai wild animals zoo,which suffered from oral ulcer,was collected and inoculated onto cultured F81 cells.Two islolates of calicivirus_like virus were obtained and identified by their physicochemical and biological characteristics.The hypervarialbe regions of virus genome were amplified by RT_PCR and analysised by sequence comparison.The results showed that the two isolates,named as FCV/cheetah/Shanghai/02/2002 and FCV/tiger/Shanghai/03/2002,respectively had specific characteristics of feline caliciviruses.Laboratory infection of cats by the virus presented a similar clinical signs of fever,and ulcer and decreased appetite.The homology of the hypervariable region between two isolates of calicivirus was 99.2 %,and 77.4 % compared with that of a tiger isolate from Guilin,China.The population homology of the two isolates with that of isolates from overseas was 58.1 %.All above showed that significant difference exited among different species or isolates,which is the most important characterization of molecular biology of feline calicivirus.