Extensive diversity of RNA viruses in ticks revealed by metagenomics in northeastern China

Liu, Ziyan; Li, Liang; Xu, Wenbo; Yuan, Yongxu; Liang, Xiaojie; Zhang, Li; Wei, Zhengkai; Sui, Liyan; Zhao, Yinghua; Cui, Yanyan; Yin, Qing; Li, Dajun; Li, Qianxue; Wei, Feng; Hou, Zhijun; Liu, Quan; Wang, Zedong

doi:10.1101/2022.04.27.489762

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Our analysis of the bat-tick C. vespertilionis virome revealed the family Nairoviridae ( Bunyavirales ) as the most abundant and prevalent in the libraries of recently blood-fed ticks (). Similar findings have been reported in recent metagenomic studies on different tick and host species across a variety of geographical locations [44–47], suggesting that ticks might be competent hosts and vectors for the replication and transmission of nairoviruses in nature. Among the members of the Nairoviridae found here, we identified ISKV [48, 49], a zoonotic virus associated with outbreaks of acute febrile illness in humans.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Substantial viral and bacterial diversity at the bat–tick interface

et al. 2023

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Ticks harbour a high diversity of viruses, bacteria and protozoa. The soft tick Carios vespertilionis (Argasidae) is a common ectoparasite of bats in the Palearctic region and is suspected to be vector and reservoir of viruses and other microbial species in bat populations, some of which may act as zoonotic agents for human disease. The Soprano pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Vespertilionidae) is widely distributed in Europe, where it can be found inside or close to human habitation. We used meta-transcriptomic sequencing to determine the RNA virome and common microbiota in blood-fed C. vespertilionis ticks collected from a Soprano pipistrelle bat roosting site in south-central Sweden. Our analyses identified 16 viruses from 11 virus families, of which 15 viruses were novel. For the first time in Sweden we identified Issuk-Kul virus, a zoonotic arthropod-borne virus previously associated with outbreaks of acute febrile illness in humans. Probable bat-associated and tick-borne viruses were classified within the families Nairoviridae, Caliciviridae and Hepeviridae, while other invertebrate-associated viruses included members of the Dicistroviridae, Iflaviridae, Nodaviridae, Partitiviridae, Permutotetraviridae, Polycipiviridae and Solemoviridae. Similarly, we found abundant bacteria in C. vespertilionis, including genera with known tick-borne bacteria, such as Coxiella spp. and Rickettsia spp. These findings demonstrate the remarkable diversity of RNA viruses and bacteria present in C. vespertilionis and highlight the importance of bat-associated ectoparasite surveillance as an effective and non-invasive means to track viruses and bacteria circulating in bats and ticks.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Substantial viral and bacterial diversity at the bat–tick interface

et al. 2023

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“…I. persulcatus is the principal vector of the agents of Lyme borreliosis, Rickettsioses, and Babesioses along with A. phagocytophilum and clinically relevant human pathogen Jingmen tick virus (Alongshan virus) and Far-Eastern strain of TBEV (56). D. silvarum and H. concinna had also been linked with several tickborne pathogens found throughout China, including Francisella tularensis, Coxiella burnetii, Rickettsia spp., Babesia spp., Anaplasma spp., TBEV, and SFTSV/Dabie bandavirus (50,57). Despite examining more pools of D. silvarum and H. concinna, we identified a greater number of viral contigs in I. persulcatus, while no Bunyavirales viral sequences were detected within H. concinna pools.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Diversity of RNA viruses of three dominant tick species in North China

et al. 2023

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BackgroundA wide range of bacterial pathogens have been identified in ticks, yet the diversity of viruses in ticks is largely unexplored.MethodsHere, we used metagenomic sequencing to characterize the diverse viromes in three principal tick species associated with pathogens, Haemaphysalis concinna, Dermacentor silvarum, and Ixodes persulcatus, in North China.ResultsA total of 28 RNA viruses were identified and belonged to more than 12 viral families, including single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses (Flaviviridae, Picornaviridae, Luteoviridae, Solemoviridae, and Tetraviridae), negative-sense RNA viruses (Mononegavirales, Bunyavirales, and others) and double-stranded RNA viruses (Totiviridae and Partitiviridae). Of these, Dermacentor pestivirus-likevirus, Chimay-like rhabdovirus, taiga tick nigecruvirus, and Mukawa virus are presented as novel viral species, while Nuomin virus, Scapularis ixovirus, Sara tick-borne phlebovirus, Tacheng uukuvirus, and Beiji orthonairovirus had been established as human pathogens with undetermined natural circulation and pathogenicity. Other viruses include Norway mononegavirus 1, Jilin partitivirus, tick-borne tetravirus, Pico-like virus, Luteo-like virus 2, Luteo-likevirus 3, Vovk virus, Levivirus, Toti-like virus, and Solemo-like virus as well as others with unknown pathogenicity to humans and wild animals.ConclusionIn conclusion, extensive virus diversity frequently occurs in Mononegavirales and Bunyavirales among the three tick species. Comparatively, I. persulcatus ticks had been demonstrated as such a kind of host with a significantly higher diversity of viral species than those of H. concinna and D. silvarum ticks. Our analysis supported that ticks are reservoirs for a wide range of viruses and suggested that the discovery and characterization of tick-borne viruses would have implications for viral taxonomy and provide insights into tick-transmitted viral zoonotic diseases.

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Identification of Mudanjiang Phlebovirus in the Daxing’anling Region of China

Fang,

Liu,

Tang

et al. 2023

Viruses

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Mudanjiang phlebovirus (MJPV) is a newly discovered phlebovirus, initially detected from Ixodes persulcatus ticks in China in 2022. In this study, by next-generation sequencing (NGS) on a wide variety of ticks and wild small animals in China, we detected MJPV from I. persulcatus and Meriones meridianus. Additionally, we conducted RT-PCR and sequencing on 1815 adult ticks and 805 wild small mammals collected from eight provinces in China between 2017 and 2021. MJPV RNA-positive results were found in 0.22% (4/1815) of tick samples, as well as in 0.12% (1/805) of rodent samples. All positive detections were obtained from Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia. Sequencing analysis revealed nucleotide similarities ranging from 98.23% to 99.11%, as well as amino acid similarities ranging from 99.12% to100%, between the current MJPV strain and previously reported strains of MJPV. Phylogenetic tree analysis demonstrated that the previously reported MJPV strain along with our two variants clustered together with other tick-borne phenuiviruses, indicating their close relationship within this viral group. This study represents the first detection of MJPV infection in wild rodents, expanding the known host range for this virus in the endemic regions.

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Extensive diversity of RNA viruses in ticks revealed by metagenomics in northeastern China

Cited by 4 publications

References 57 publications

Substantial viral and bacterial diversity at the bat–tick interface

Substantial viral and bacterial diversity at the bat–tick interface

Diversity of RNA viruses of three dominant tick species in North China

Identification of Mudanjiang Phlebovirus in the Daxing’anling Region of China

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