Genome mining and comprehensive molecular characterization of feline Panleukopenia virus reveals distinct VP2 mutational signatures and evolutionary divergence.

Authors

Maged Ullah Hemida, Nadine Moawed, Abid Ullah Shah, Marialouise Burgos, Diane Levitan, Korakrit Poonsuk, Csaba Vagra

Published in

Infection, genetics and evolution : journal of molecular epidemiology and evolutionary genetics in infectious diseases. Pages 106060. Nov 10, 2026. Epub Nov 10, 2026.

Abstract

Feline Panleukopenia Virus is a highly contagious, systemic, and environmentally stable virus that primarily targets leukocytes and affects cats of all ages. Despite its clinical and epidemiological importance, limited molecular surveillance studies have been conducted in the densely populated downstate region of New York. The objective of this study was to investigate the molecular and serological prevalence of FPV among shelter cats in this region and to isolate and genetically characterize circulating strains. Samples, including swabs and sera, were collected from 108 shelter cats and tested using quantitative PCR (qPCR) and immunofluorescent assay (IFA), respectively. Results showed that 25.0% (27/108) of the cats were FPV-positive by qPCR, while 39.8% (43/108) were positive by IFA, indicating active viral circulation within the tested populations. Viral isolation was successfully performed using Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) confirmed the detection of a newly characterized FPV isolate (Accession: PZ251627) circulating within the tested shelter cat population. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated high nucleotide similarity with previously reported FPV strains, including MH165482 (99.3%), MN127781 (99.2%), and MH165481 (99.2%). Analysis of the VP2 gene also revealed close similarity with isolates OQ615264, KT899746, and PVMRFD, along with two amino acid substitutions, Ile101Thr and Glu411Ala. Spatial interpolation analysis identified a higher occurrence of FPV-positive cats in western downstate New York, emphasizing the importance of continued surveillance and monitoring programs.

PMID:
43009031
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 11 Nov 2026.

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