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. 2025 Jun 16;53(1):82.
doi: 10.1186/s41182-025-00759-9.

Full genome characterization of a Kenyan G8P[14] rotavirus strain suggests artiodactyl-to-human zoonotic transmission

Ernest Apondi Wandera  1   2   3 , Yuki Akari  4 , Carlene Sang  1 , Pamela Njugu  1 , Samoel Ashimosi Khamadi  1 , Sebastian Musundi  5 , Maurine Mumo Mutua  3 , Saori Fukuda  6 , Takayuki Murata  6   7 , Shingo Inoue  3 , Satoshi Kaneko  3 , James Nyangao  8 , Satoshi Komoto  9   10   11
Affiliations

Full genome characterization of a Kenyan G8P[14] rotavirus strain suggests artiodactyl-to-human zoonotic transmission

Ernest Apondi Wandera et al. Trop Med Health. .

Abstract

Background: Rotavirus infections are a major cause of severe gastroenteritis in children. Human rotavirus strains with the unconventional G8P[14] genotype have sporadically been detected in diarrheic patients in different parts of the world. However, full genomes of only two human G8P[14] strains from Africa (North Africa) have been sequenced, and the origin and evolutionary patterns of African G8P[14] strains remain to be elucidated.

Methods: In this study, we sequenced the full genome of an African G8P[14] strain (RVA/Human-wt/KEN/A75/2000/G8P[14]) identified in archival stool samples from a diarrheic child in Kenya.

Results: Full genome-based analysis of strain A75 revealed a unique genogroup constellation, G8-P[14]-I2-R2-C2-M2-A11-N2-T6-E2-H3, with the I2-R2-C2-M2-A11-N2-T6-E2-H3 part being common among rotavirus strains from artiodactyls such as cattle. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all the 11 genomic segments of strain A75 are closely related to segments found in artiodactyl rotavirus strains, and likely strain A75 derived from spillover transmission of an artiodactyl rotavirus strain to humans.

Conclusion: This is the first report on a full genome-based characterization of a human G8P[14] strain from East Africa. This study demonstrates the diversity of human G8P[14] strains in Africa and contributes to the elucidation of their spreading and evolution, which includes zoonotic transmission from artiodactyls.

Keywords: Africa; Artiodactyls; Full genome-based analysis; G8P[14] strains; Group A rotavirus; Interspecies transmission; Kenya.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Scientific and Ethical Review Committees of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Phylogenetic trees constructed from the nucleotide sequences of the VP7 (a), VP4 (b), VP6 (c), VP1 (d), VP2 (e), VP3 (f), NSP1 (g), NSP2 (h), NSP3 (i), NSP4 (j), and NSP5 (k) genomic segments of strain A75 and representative RVA strains. The position of strain A75 is indicated by a red circle. Blue circles indicate positions of the two other known human G8P[14] strains, ma31 and AS970, from Africa. Green circles indicate positions of RVA strains isolated from artiodactyls. Bootstrap values of < 75% are not shown. Scale bars: 0.05 (j and k), 0.1 (a–c and g–i), and 0.2 (d–f) substitutions per nucleotide
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Phylogenetic trees constructed from the nucleotide sequences of the VP7 (a), VP4 (b), VP6 (c), VP1 (d), VP2 (e), VP3 (f), NSP1 (g), NSP2 (h), NSP3 (i), NSP4 (j), and NSP5 (k) genomic segments of strain A75 and representative RVA strains. The position of strain A75 is indicated by a red circle. Blue circles indicate positions of the two other known human G8P[14] strains, ma31 and AS970, from Africa. Green circles indicate positions of RVA strains isolated from artiodactyls. Bootstrap values of < 75% are not shown. Scale bars: 0.05 (j and k), 0.1 (a–c and g–i), and 0.2 (d–f) substitutions per nucleotide
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Phylogenetic trees constructed from the nucleotide sequences of the VP7 (a), VP4 (b), VP6 (c), VP1 (d), VP2 (e), VP3 (f), NSP1 (g), NSP2 (h), NSP3 (i), NSP4 (j), and NSP5 (k) genomic segments of strain A75 and representative RVA strains. The position of strain A75 is indicated by a red circle. Blue circles indicate positions of the two other known human G8P[14] strains, ma31 and AS970, from Africa. Green circles indicate positions of RVA strains isolated from artiodactyls. Bootstrap values of < 75% are not shown. Scale bars: 0.05 (j and k), 0.1 (a–c and g–i), and 0.2 (d–f) substitutions per nucleotide
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Nucleotide sequence comparison using VISTA similarity plots of the concatenated genome of strain A75 with those of genetically related artiodactyl strains (buffalo 4426, roe deer D110-15, and bovine A44 and DQ-75), and artiodactyl-like human strains (B12 and Hun5). Strain names are listed on the left, and the positions of the 11 genes are indicated at the top. The bottom scale denotes distance in kb. The sequence-based percent identity between study strain A75 and the respective reference strains is indicated on the right. Shading represents the level of conservation. Regions with low similarity at the start and end of individual genomic segments likely indicate missing or divergent sequences in the reference strains compared to the study strain A75
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