The first varicellovirus to be clinically described as a unique disease was varicella zoster virus (VZV), the causative agent of chickenpox and shingles in 1767. Like other alphaherpesviruses, varicelloviruses typically infect epithelial surfaces, and most appear to be neurotropic, establishing latency in neurons. The Varicellovirus genus is part of the larger alphaherpesvirus subfamily which includes herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2, as well as Marek’s disease virus. Together, the data contribute to a greater understanding of varicellovirus genomics, and we also suggest a new clade nomenclature scheme based on genetic distances. We also found that the recently sequenced Brazilian CHV-1 strain BTU-1 may contain a genetic signal in the UL50 gene from an unknown varicellovirus.

A recent study reported no recombination between sequenced FHV-1 strains, however in the present study, both splitstree, bootscan, and PHI analysis indicated recombination. Varicellovirus clade nomenclature is variable across different species, and we propose a standardization based on genomic genetic distance. The G + C content of the ungulate viruses was also higher (SuHV-1 73.6%, BHV-1 72.6%, EHV-1 56.6%, EHV-4 50.5%) compared to the non-ungulate viruses (FHV-1 45.8%, CHV-1 31.6%, VZV 45.8%), which suggests a possible link between G + C content and intraspecies genetic diversity.

Intraspecies genetic distances were higher in the ungulate viruses (pseudorabies virus (SuHV-1) 1.65%, bovine herpes virus type 1 (BHV-1) 0.81%, equine herpes virus type 1 (EHV-1) 0.79%, equine herpes virus type 4 (EHV-4) 0.16%) than non-ungulate viruses ( feline herpes virus type 1 (FHV-1) 0.0089%, canine herpes virus type 1 (CHV-1) 0.005%, varicella-zoster virus (VZV) 0.136%). ResultsĪ phylogenetic network including genomic sequences of individual species, was generated and suggested a potential restriction between the ungulate and non-ungulate viruses. Here, currently available varicellovirus genomic sequences were used for phylogenetic, recombination, and genetic distance analysis. Recently, next-generation sequencing has been used to generate genomic sequences of several members of the Varicellovirus genus. The varicelloviruses comprise a genus within the alphaherpesvirus subfamily, and infect both humans and other mammals.

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