Genomic Evaluation of the Genus Coltivirus Indicates Genetic Diversity among Colorado Tick Fever Virus Strains and Demarcation of a New Species

Abstract

The type species of the genus Coltivirus, Colorado tick fever virus (CTFV), was discovered in 1943 and is the most common tick-borne viral infection in the Western US. Despite its long history, very little is known about the molecular diversity of viruses classified within the species Colorado tick fever coltivirus. Previous studies have suggested genetic variants and potential serotypes of CTFV, but limited genetic sequence information is available for CTFV strains. To address this knowledge gap, we report herein the full-length genomes of five strains of CTFV, including Salmon River virus and California hare coltivirus (CTFV-Ca). The sequence from the full-length genome of Salmon River virus identified a high genetic identity to the CTFV prototype strain with >90% amino acid identity in all the segments except segment four, suggesting Salmon River virus is a strain of the species Colorado tick fever coltivirus. Additionally, analysis suggests that segment four has been associated with reassortment in at least one strain. The CTFV-Ca full-length genomic sequence was highly variable from the prototype CTFV in all the segments. The genome of CTFV-Ca was most similar to the Eyach virus, including similar segments six and seven. These data suggest that CTFV-Ca is not a strain of CTFV but a unique species. Additional sequence information of CTFV strains will improve the molecular surveillance tools and provide additional taxonomic resolution to this understudied virus.

Transmission of yellow fever vaccine virus through blood transfusion and organ transplantation in the USA in 2021: report of an investigation

“…RNA extractions from FFPE autopsy tissue specimens underwent metagenomic next-generation sequencing at the CDC Arboviral Diseases Branch (Fort Collins, CO, USA; appendix pp 2 – 3 ). 9 Stored serum from the organ donor and serum and CSF specimens from organ and tissue recipients were tested for RNA and IgM and neutralising antibodies for various arboviruses at multiple laboratories, including the CDC Arboviral Diseases Branch, the Laboratory of Viral Diseases at the Wadsworth Center of the New York State Department of Health (Albany, NY, USA), and commercial laboratories, as previously described. 10 , 11 …”

Potential Mechanisms of Transmission of Tick-Borne Viruses at the Virus-Tick Interface

“…Opportunities for such augmentation of vertically transmitted infections take place in the field, where a low prevalence of tickborne encephalitis virus infection in I. ricinus larvae has been recorded. Comparable results have been documented for the Colorado tick fever virus and the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, whereas higher filial infection prevalence was reported for the African swine fever virus (Yadav et al, 2019;Hughes et al, 2021).…”

Dermatological manifestations of tick-borne viral infections found in the United States

“…Colorado Tick Fever Virus (CTFV) is a member of the genus Coltivirus , family Reoviridae [ 37 ]. Viruses within the genus Coltivirus have double-stranded RNA genomes made of 12 segments that encode for 13 viral proteins (VP) 1–12 [ 38 ].…”