Novel putative bluetongue virus serotype 29 isolated from inapparently infected goat in Xinjiang of China

Bluetongue virus (BTV) is the ‘type’ species of the genus Orbivirus causing bluetongue (BT) in sheep, bovine and other ruminants. Twenty‐four serotypes and several atypical serotypes of BTV were identified worldwide. In present study, a novel strain of BTV (V196/XJ/2014) was isolated from an asymptomatic sentinel goat in Yuli County, Xinjiang of China. Serotype identification of this isolate exhibited uniform negative results by serotype‐specific conventional RT‐PCR and real‐time RT‐PCR for BTV‐1 to BTV‐27, and virus neutralization tests using reference sera of BTV‐1 to BTV‐24. Genomic analysis showed V196/XJ/2014 grouped with atypical serotypes of BTV‐25 to BTV‐28, BTV‐X/XJ1407, BTV‐X/ITL2015 and BTV‐Y/TUN2017, while segment 2 and VP2 protein of V196/XJ/2014 shared