Cross-species recombination in the haemagglutinin gene of canine distemper virus

Canine distemper virus (CDV) has high prevalence in the world dog population and poses an important conservation threat to many carnivore species. In this study, extensive phylogenetic and recombination analyses were performed on all available complete haemagglutinin gene sequences and a strain (AF178038) isolated from giant panda was identified as putative recombinant. Interestingly, the mosaic was produced by recombination between genotypes European wildlife and Asia-1 and the recombination event involves viruses infecting different host species. This finding may have important implications for the evolution of CDV.