Examination of the selective pressures on a live PRRS vaccine virus

We determined the ORF5 and 7 sequences of 20 pathogenic revertants of a live PRRSV vaccine. The sequence analysis confirmed all 20 isolates to be of vaccine origin. Having established that clonal introduction of American (vaccine) PRRS virus had occurred in Denmark, we could perform analysis of the selective pressure this attenuated virus had experienced during reversion.

An analysis of nucleotide mutations showed a similar rate of mutations in the two genes (ORF5 and 7). However, non-synonymous mutations in ORF7 were eliminated by purifying selection. In contrast, non-synonymous mutations in ORF5 were tolerated or even selected for. The cDNA sequencing of the 20 vaccine virus revertants identified two single nucleotide mutations located in ORF5 and in ORF6 that we suggest are involved or at least linked to the attenuation of the vaccine virus and to the subsequent reversion to virulence.