The subgroup-Va was the dominant subgroup in PEDV and eight novel variant PEDV strains were identified in Chinese mainland
The variant PEDV in China seemed spread from the southeast coastal districts to other coastal and interior districts
The 1-750 bp of S could represent S1 or S for genetic characteristics and protein property analysis to some extent
Three genetic markers were identified to differentiate the classical and variant virulent parental/attenuated PEDV strains