Abstract

Objective: This research work was conducted for the molecular characterization of the circulating foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus in Bangladesh and revealed out their serotype.
Materials and methods: The VP1 gene of six field isolates of FMD virus (FMDV) serotypes (two serotypes O, two serotypes A, and two serotypes Asia 1) was subjected for sequencing and phy¬logenetic analysis. Neighbor-joining trees were constructed by using the Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis 6, having the field nucleotide sequences of FMDV and related sequences avail¬able in the GenBank.
Results: The nucleotide sequences of the VP1 genes of serotypes O, A, and Asia-1 of the isolates revealed that overall isolates were 91%–100% similar to the isolates reported from Bangladesh and other neighboring countries. Among the isolates reported from Bangladesh, serotype O had 98%–100% identity, serotype A had 91%–100% identity, and serotype Asia-1 had 94%–100% iden¬tity. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that the FMDV serotype O PanAsia-02 sub-lineage was con¬firmed in Bangladesh under the Middle East–South Asian (ME-SA) topotype. On the other hand, we identified genotype VII (18) of Asia topotype (serotype A) and lineage C (serotype Asia-1).
Conclusion: The FMDV serotype O PanAsia-02 sub-lineage was confirmed in Bangladesh under the ME-SA topotype for the first time. The extensive cross-border animal movement from neigh¬boring countries may act as the source of diversified FMDV serotypes in Bangladesh.

Key words: PanAsia-02; serotype; FMDV; Bangladesh