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Abstract: Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) belongs to the genus Circovirus of the Circoviridae family and has been associated with a disease named postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS). In Portugal the disease caused severe problems mainly between 1995 and 2003, but is nowadays less evident probably as the result of vaccination programmes initiated in 2007. This study reports the molecular analysis of 22 PCV2 strains obtained from domestic pigs originated from different regions of Portugal. One hundred and seventy-seven samples from PCV2 suspected cases received between 2003 and 2010 were analysed, 79 (44.6%) of which tested PCV2 PCR-positive. The entire genomes of 22 viruses were amplified and sequenced. Two major groups were observed, according to the genome length and in single nucleotide polymorphisms. The nucleotide similarity found among the PCV2 strains ranged between 94% and 99%. The Bayesian inference of phylogeny based on the genome of the strains studied revealed the existence of two distinct genetic groups consistent with the nucleotide sequence observations. The majority of the strains branched in genotype PCV2b, while six strains with a common geographical origin obtained between 2007 and 2009, were included in genotype PCV2a. The analysis performed with cap and rep genes confirmed that cap is a reliable alternative to full-length genome based phylogenetic studies of PCV2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article discusses a study conducted to determine and analyze the complete nucleotide sequences of six beak and feather diseases virus (BFDV) strains obtained from naturally-infected African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) in Portugal. Researchers detected the characteristic genomic structure of circoviruses with an intergenic region flanked by two head-to-head arranged open reading frames (ORF) in the six strains. They also observed differences in the genome length, intergenic region and locations of TATA boxes, polyadenylation signals, and octamer and hexamer repeats.