Distribution and Characterisation of Tick-Borne Flavi-, Flavi-like, and Phenuiviruses in the Chelyabinsk Region of Russia

Abstract

In this work, we presented data from a two-year study of flavi-, flavi-like, and phenuiviruses circulation in the population of ixodid ticks in the Chelyabinsk region. We isolated three tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) strains from I. persulcatus, which was not detected in the ticks of the genus Dermacentor. The virus prevalence ranged from 0.66% to 2.28%. The Yanggou tick virus (YGTV) is widespread in steppe and forest-steppe zones and is mainly associated with ticks of the genus Dermacentor. We isolated 26 strains from D. reticulatus, D. marginatus, and I. persulcatus ticks in the HAE/CTVM8 tick cell line. The virus prevalence ranged from 1.58% to 4.18% in D. reticulatus, ranged from 0.78% to 3.93% in D. marginatus, and was 0.66% in I. persulcatus. There was combined focus of TBEV and YGTV in the territory of the Chelyabinsk region. The Alongshan virus (ALSV) was found to be associated with I. persulcatus ticks and is spread in forest zone. We detected 12 amplicons and isolated 7 strains of ALSV in tick cells. The virus prevalence ranged from 1.13% to 6.00%. The phlebovirus Gomselga and unclassified phenuivirus Stavropol were associated with I. persulcatus and D. reticulatus ticks, respectively. Virus prevalence of the unclassified phenuivirus Stavropol in the Chelyabinsk region is lower than that in neighbouring regions.

Conserved Sequences in the 5′ and 3′ Untranslated Regions of Jingmenvirus Group Representatives

“…Three previously isolated ALSV strains (Miass527, Miass502, and Miass519) [6,8] and eight YGTV strains (Bredy15-T22208, Bredy15-T22181, Bredy15-T22188, Bredy15-T22189, Plast15-T22436, Plast15-22438, Erzhin14-T20074, and Kartaly14-T19309) [8,13] were used in this work. Amplicons detected previously (Miass523 and Kursh17-T25456) were isolated during this work.…”

“…Amplicons detected previously (Miass523 and Kursh17-T25456) were isolated during this work. HAE/CTVM8 [31] and IRE/CTVM19 [32] tick cell cultures (kindly provided by Lesley Bell-Sakyi of the Tick Cell Biobank) were cultivated as described previously [6,8,13,31,32].…”

“…Previously isolated strains were cultivated on the HAE/CTVM8 cell line or the IRE/CTVM19 cell line for a period ranging from six months to three years, as described earlier [6,8,13]. The Miass523 and Kursh17-T25456 ALSV strains were isolated via persistence for two months in the IRE/CTVM19 [32] and HAE/CTVM8 [31] cell lines, respectively, using previously described methodology [6,13].…”

“…The JVG includes several members, such as Jingmen tick virus (JMTV), Alongshan virus (ALSV), Yanggou tick virus (YGTV), and Takachi virus (TAKV) [3,[6][7][8][9]. JVG members are believed to be arboviruses [9,11] and have been detected in various arthropods, including ticks [3,7,8,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18], mosquitoes [3,7], reptiles [19], and mammals (including humans) [7,[16][17][18]20]. Moreover, there is evidence that JMTV and ALSV may be able to cause disease in humans [7,17].…”

First detection of Jingmen tick virus in Corsica, France and development of a real time detection system for multiple tick-associated jingmenviruses

“…The tick-associated jingmenvirus clade also includes Yanggou tick virus (YGTV) found in ticks from China and Russia, Takachi virus (TAKV) in ticks from Japan, Pteropus lylei jingmenvirus (PLJV) in bats from Cambodia, a partial genome from mice from the United States of America (Peromyscus leucopus jingmenvirus) and two divergent full genome sequences from cattle feces and soil samples from China (Guangdong jingmen-like virus, GJLV and Hainan jingmen-like virus) 3,[18][19][20][21][22] .…”