Characterization of Imjin Virus, a Newly Isolated Hantavirus from the Ussuri White-Toothed Shrew ( Crocidura lasiura )

bHantaviruses are important contributors to disease burden in the New World, yet many aspects of their distribution and dynamics remain uncharacterized. To examine the patterns and processes that influence the diversity and geographic distribution of hantaviruses in South America, we performed genetic and phylogeographic analyses of all available South American hantavirus sequences. We sequenced multiple novel and previously described viruses (Anajatuba, Laguna Negra-like, two genotypes of Castelo dos Sonhos, and two genotypes of Rio Mamore) from Brazilian Oligoryzomys rodents and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome cases and identified a previously uncharacterized species of Oligoryzomys associated with a new genotype of Rio Mamore virus. Our analysis indicates that the majority of South American hantaviruses fall into three phylogenetic clades, corresponding to Andes and Andes-like viruses, Laguna Negra and Laguna Negra-like viruses, and Rio Mamore and Rio Mamore-like viruses. In addition, the dynamics and distribution of these viruses appear to be shaped by both the geographic proximity and phylogenetic relatedness of their rodent hosts. The current system of nomenclature used in the hantavirus community is a significant impediment to understanding the ecology and evolutionary history of hantaviruses; here, we suggest strict adherence to a modified taxonomic system, with species and strain designations resembling the numerical system of the enterovirus genus.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and Distribution of Hantaviruses in South America

Firth

Tokarz

Simith

et al. 2012

“…The RdRp amino acid sequence similarity, which was highest (72.4% and 73.3%) between KMJV and ULUV (Table 1), exhibited six major conserved motifs (designated premotif A and motifs A, B, C, D, and E), like other hantaviruses (4,10).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Expanded Host Diversity and Geographic Distribution of Hantaviruses in Sub-Saharan Africa

Kang

Stanley

Esselstyn

et al. 2014

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The recent discovery of hantaviruses in shrews and bats in West Africa suggests that other genetically distinct hantaviruses exist in East Africa. Genetic and phylogenetic analyses of newfound hantaviruses, detected in archival tissues from the Geata mouse shrew (Myosorex geata) and Kilimanjaro mouse shrew (Myosorex zinki) captured in Tanzania, expands the host diversity and geographic distribution of hantaviruses and suggests that ancestral shrews and/or bats may have served as the original mammalian hosts of primordial hantaviruses.

“…Moreover, the recent discovery of genetically diverse hantaviruses in shrews of multiple species (order Soricomorpha, family Soricidae), including Tanganya virus in the Therese's shrew (Crocidura theresae) (27), Imjin virus in the Ussuri whitetoothed shrew (Crocidura lasiura) (49), Camp Ripley virus in the northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda) (4), Cao Bang virus in the Chinese mole shrew (Anourosorex squamipes) (48), Seewis virus in the Eurasian common shrew (Sorex araneus) (47), Ash River virus in the masked shrew (Sorex cinereus) (2), Jemez Springs virus in the dusky shrew (Sorex monticolus) (2), and Kenkeme virus in the flat-skulled shrew (Sorex roboratus) (25), as well as in moles (family Talpidae), including Asama virus (ASAV) in the Japanese shrew mole (Urotrichus talpoides) (3), Oxbow virus (OXBV) in the American shrew mole (Neurotrichus gibbsii) (23), and Nova virus (NVAV) in the European common mole (Talpa europaea) (24), suggests that the evolutionary history of hantaviruses is more complex than previously conjectured.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Shared Ancestry between a Newfound Mole-Borne Hantavirus and Hantaviruses Harbored by Cricetid Rodents

Kang

Bennett

Hope

et al. 2011

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Discovery of genetically distinct hantaviruses in multiple species of shrews (order Soricomorpha, family Soricidae) and moles (family Talpidae) contests the conventional view that rodents (order Rodentia, families Muridae and Cricetidae) are the principal reservoir hosts and suggests that the evolutionary history of hantaviruses is far more complex than previously hypothesized. We now report on Rockport virus (RKPV), a hantavirus identified in archival tissues of the eastern mole (Scalopus aquaticus) collected in Rockport, TX, in 1986. Pairwise comparison of the full-length S, M, and L genomic segments indicated moderately low sequence similarity between RKPV and other soricomorph-borne hantaviruses. Phylogenetic analyses, using maximumlikelihood and Bayesian methods, showed that RKPV shared a most recent common ancestor with cricetidrodent-borne hantaviruses. Distributed widely across the eastern United States, the fossorial eastern mole is sympatric and syntopic with cricetid rodents known to harbor hantaviruses, raising the possibility of hostswitching events in the distant past. Our findings warrant more-detailed investigations on the dynamics of spillover and cross-species transmission of present-day hantaviruses within communities of rodents and moles.