The family Parvoviridae comprises round, non-enveloped viruses that have linear, single-stranded DNA genomes ranging from 4–6 kb(1), and they have been detected in nearly all major groups of vertebrates, as well as in both proto- and deuterostome invertebrates(2). In 1975, the family Parvoviridae was established, and in 1993 it was divided into two subfamilies, Parvovirinae and Densovirinae, to classify viruses that infect either vertebrate or invertebrate hosts(1). As of now, according to the classification principles of the International Committee for the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), the family Parvoviridae comprises 3 subfamilies, 28 genera, and 175 species. Reports of parvoviruses have surfaced in numerous countries and have affected a wide range of hosts, including mammals such as humans(3), mice(4), canines(5), and chimpanzees(6), as well as arthropods such as crickets(7), and birds such as ducks(8), red-crowned cranes(9), and pigeons(10).
Parvoviral genomes are characterized by long inverted terminal repeats (LTRs) located at both the 5' and 3' ends, which can adopt hairpin-like structures and play a role in the viruses' expression and transcription strategies(11). They encode two open reading frames (ORFs), where ORF1 encodes non-structural proteins NS1 and NS2, and ORF2 encodes structural proteins VP1 and VP2(12). Parvoviruses can be classified as belonging to the same species if their NS1 proteins have a shared amino acid sequence identity of over 85%. Similarly, a genus can be defined as a cluster of species that form a single branch and have a minimum of 35–40% amino acid sequence identity with a coverage of over 80% between any two members(2).
At present, there are 18 species within the genus Protoparvovirus, consisting of 15 officially recognized species and three that are currently proposed(13). Protoparvovirus carnivoran2 (CPV-2), belonging to the genus Protoparvovirus of the family Parvoviridae, is a highly contagious viral pathogen that primarily affects canids, particularly dogs. It is characterized by causing severe gastroente ric disease in its hosts, including symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, and dehydration(5, 14). CPV-2 has a wide range of hosts, including dogs, foxes, and wolves, and is mainly transmitted through the fecal-oral route(15). The CPV-2 first invades the pharynx and then enters the bloodstream within a few days of infection, reaching the intestines and bone marrow, causing severe leukopenia and may also cause viremia, which may subsequently lead to myocarditis(15, 16).
Here, we present the genome characterization of a novel Arctic wolf parvovirus (named AWPV) identified from an Arctic wolf pharyngeal metagenomic library. The discovery of this new genome expands our understanding of the diversity of parvoviruses. Our analysis suggests that AWPV could potentially be classified as a new species in the genus Protoparvovirus.