Molecular Characterization and Phylogenetic Analysis of the G6 and G10 Genotypes of Bovine Rotaviruses from Iran

Background and Aims: Rotaviruses are the main cause of gastroenteritis in the young of human and a variety of animals in the world. Rotavirus G6 and G10 are the most prevalent genotypes in cattle worldwide, but are also found in human with possible origination from animals. Materials and Methods: In this work, we have detected the G6 and G10 genotypes of bovine rotaviruses isolated from diarrheic calves in Tehran province by RT-PCR. The amplified VP7 genes were cloned, sequenced and compared to the sequences deposited in the GenBank database from the world. Results: The phylogenetic analysis showed that the Iranian G6 and G10 genotypes are most identical to the genotypes from Ireland (>98.6%  amino acid homology) and Canada (>97.3% amino acid homology), respectively. Conclusion: This high similarity between the Iranian sequences and those from the far countries may suggest that the virus can be spread in a wide geographic region possibly by animal transportation.