Clinical Manifestation and Phylogenetic Analysis of Peste des Petits Ruminants in Local Iraqi Breed Sheep in Al‐Diwaniyah Province

Abstract

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR), a contagious virus that infects sheep and goats, damages livestock globally. This study examined the clinical features and phylogenetic analysis of the PPR virus in Iraqi breed sheep from Al‐Diwaniyah province. A clinical trial of 610 sheep from different flocks found 150 oral lesions. Special primers for RT‐PCR and Mega11 for phylogenetic analysis were used to study the PPR virus nucleoprotein (N) gene. The PPR infection rate was 44.6% in 4–12 month olds (n = 33/131) and 4.8% in 36–48 month olds (n = 3/75). A 608‐bp PPR virus partial N gene sequence was found in 49.3% of samples by RT‐PCR. In leucine, isoleucine, proline, glycine, alanine, glutamine, asparagine, threonine, serine, arginine, and lysine codons, 25 amino acid alterations were found. The protein codon 56 alanine‐valine alteration was most significant. Moving from a smaller hydrophobic amino acid to one with a bigger side chain may reduce protein stability. Steric hindrance or protein shape change from Valine’s extended side chain may impact folding, stability, functionality, and interactions with other molecules. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis showed that the Nigerian strain (MN271586) was most similar to our Iraqi strain, with 100% identity and coverage. This study found the Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) virus in sheep flocks in Al‐Diwaniyah Governorate, Iraq, which is genetically similar to neighboring countries. PPR virus strains must be monitored and genetically characterized since N gene alterations can affect infection and propagation.