Abstract:
In order to understand the prevalence of Feline calicivirus(FCV) in captive Northeast tigers, in this experiments a total of 40 blood samples of Northeast tigers were collected from Hengdaohezi Northeast Tiger Park in Hailin City and Northeast Tiger Park in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. FCV was detected by nested PCR, and positive PCR products were sequenced and analyzed for genetic evolution. The results showed that a total of 4 out of 40 samples were tested positive for FCV, with a positive rate of 10%. Four sequencing isolates were named HB-1516, HD-068, HD-079, and HD101, respectively. The nucleotide similarities between the four sequencing isolates and the FCV reference strains ranged from 76.6% to 88.3%; the four sequencing isolates were in the same branch and were most closely related to the cat-derived FCV, but were in different branches with the commonly used vaccine strains(F4, F9, F65, 2024 strain). The results suggested that there might be FCV transmission from cats to tigers, suggesting that the vaccine currently in use did not provide complete protection.