Nick Vereecke from PathoSense BV in Belgium presented “Intra- and inter-cattery epidemiology of feline coronavirus in Belgium between 2018 and 2021” as part of the Nanopore Community Meeting 2022. This five-minute session was packed with information. They described the feline coronavirus (FCoV) that was first detected in 1963 and has 3 serotypes so far. The virus, Vereecke noted, is spread from the feca-oral route. Interestingly, the tropism for macrophages seems to depend on a conversion from mutations. They collected samples and 414 samples from 12 catteries, 1 longitudinal cattery, and 513 fecal samples. The research team included a graduate student who obtained the samples. Next, they sequenced and used the PrimalScheme approach to sequence on a GridION.With the sequences, they estimated the evolutionary dynamics of the virus. They detected 600+ events and analyzed the conditions. With 157 new sequences, the team was able to reconstruct phylogenetic trees and detect recombination events.The sequencing allowed for deeper analyses and comparison. With their pipeline, recombination events can be identified and analyzed.
