Electron microscopy and antigenic studies of uncharacterized viruses. I. Evidence suggesting the placement of viruses in familiesArenaviridae, Paramyxoviridae, orPoxviridae

Abstract

During approximately 35 years, investigators in various laboratories studying arbovirus ecology and epidemiology accumulated many virus isolates, more than 60 of which were not characterized or placed in taxa. By a combination of electron microscopic and antigenic studies we collected information sufficient to provisionally classify 60 isolates. Electron microscopic observations suggest that 20 are members of the virus family Bunyaviridae, 20 Rhabdoviridae, 14 Reoviridae, one Togaviridae, one Paramyxoviridae (Mapuera virus, from a bat), and one Poxviridae (Yoka virus, from mosquitoes). Serologic studies provided evidence sufficient to place some of these viruses in recognized antigenic groups, within families and genera, and to establish new antigenic groups and taxa for others. Three viruses were found to have morphologic and morphogenetic characteristics consistent with those of members of the family Arenaviridae: Quaranfil virus, a human pathogen, Johnston Atoll virus, isolated from birds and ticks, and Araguari virus, isolated from an opossum. This, the first in a series of three papers, described methods used for these investigations and also presents descriptions of viruses provisionally placed in the families Arenaviridae, Paramyxoviridae, or Poxviridae. Descriptions of viruses provisionally placed in families Bunyaviridae and Reoviridae are published in the second and third papers, respectively. Viruses of the family Rhabdoviridae have been described separately.

Cyclic Avian Mass Mortality in the Northeastern United States Is Associated with a Novel Orthomyxovirus

“…All avian (Pekin duck, Japanese quail) and mammalian (human, African green monkey, rhesus macaque, Mexican free-tailed bat, Virginia opossum, American mink, cattle) cell lines tested were susceptible to infection and supported replication to various degrees (maximum titers of 10 6.15 to 10 8.02 PFU/ml). However, WFBV did not replicate in C6/36 cells derived from Aedes albopictus, similar to results reported for QFRV and JAV (23,64) as well as CyRV (34), demonstrating an in vitro host range barrier for Asian tiger mosquito cells in all tested quaranjaviruses. Phylogenetic analysis.…”

Characterization of Mapuera virus: structure, proteins and nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the nucleocapsid protein

“…The measurements of the viral nucleocapsid (approximately 1 gm long and 17.5 nm diameter) and virion particles (diameter approximately 250 nm) corresponded well with those of other paramyxoviruses (Kingsbury et al, 1974) and extended the findings of Zeller et al (1989). These data indicate that the ribonucleoprotein and probably the genome of Mapuera virus are similar in length to those of other paramyxoviruses (Galinski & Wechsler, 1991).…”

“…The virus was registered in the International Catalogue of Arboviruses in 1982(Karabatsos, 1985 where it was unclassified but noted as probably not an arbovirus. A preliminary characterization of Mapuera virus by Zeller et al (1989) using electron microscopy suggested that the virus belonged to the Paramyxoviridae family, on the basis of its morphology and its ability to haemagglutinate guinea-pig erythrocytes.…”

Novel, Potentially Zoonotic Paramyxoviruses from the African Straw-Colored Fruit Bat Eidolon helvum

“…Although there was an indication that this virus had transmitted to humans (10% of human sera tested were positive in hemagglutination inhibition tests), the possibility of cross-reactivity was not ruled out (6,7). The next paramyxovirus isolated from bats was Mapuera virus, isolated from the microbat frugivore Sturnira lilium in Brazil in 1979 (8). Although Mapuera virus has not been specifically linked to disease outbreaks, its close phylogenetic relationship with porcine rubulavirus (PorPV), which caused epizootic disease in Mexican pigs in the early 1980s (9), led to speculation about its potential for host switching (10).…”