Deletion of an African Swine Fever Virus ATP-Dependent RNA Helicase <i>QP509L</i> from the Highly Virulent Georgia 2010 Strain Does Not Affect Replication or Virulence
2022
Elizabeth Ramirez-Medina | Elisabeth A. Vuono | Sarah Pruitt | Ayushi Rai | Nallely Espinoza | Edward Spinard | Alyssa Valladares | Ediane Silva | Lauro Velazquez-Salinas | Manuel V. Borca | Douglas P. Gladue
African swine fever virus (ASFV) produces a lethal disease (ASF) in domestic pigs, which is currently causing a pandemic deteriorating pig production across Eurasia. ASFV is a large and structurally complex virus with a large genome harboring more than 150 genes. ASFV gene <i>QP509L</i> has been shown to encode for an ATP-dependent RNA helicase, which appears to be important for efficient virus replication. Here, we report the development of a recombinant virus, ASFV-G-∆QP509L, having deleted the <i>QP509L</i> gene in the highly virulent field isolate ASFV Georgia 2010 (ASFV-G). It is shown that ASFV-G-∆QP509L replicates in primary swine macrophage cultures as efficiently as the parental virus ASFV-G. In addition, the experimental inoculation of pigs with 10<sup>2</sup> HAD<sub>50</sub> by the intramuscular route produced a slightly protracted but lethal clinical disease when compared to that of animals inoculated with virulent parental ASFV-G. Viremia titers in animals infected with ASFV-G-∆QP509L also had slightly protracted kinetics of presentation. Therefore, ASFV gene <i>QP509L</i> is not critical for the processes of virus replication in swine macrophages, nor is it clearly involved in virus replication and virulence in domestic pigs.
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