Geographical Distribution and Genetic Diversity of Bank Vole Hepaciviruses in Europe

Abstract

The development of new diagnostic methods resulted in the discovery of novel hepaciviruses in wild populations of the bank vole (Myodes glareolus, syn. Clethrionomys glareolus). The naturally infected voles demonstrate signs of hepatitis similar to those induced by hepatitis C virus (HCV) in humans. The aim of the present research was to investigate the geographical distribution of bank vole-associated hepaciviruses (BvHVs) and their genetic diversity in Europe. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) screening revealed BvHV RNA in 442 out of 1838 (24.0%) bank voles from nine European countries and in one of seven northern red-backed voles (Myodes rutilus, syn. Clethrionomys rutilus). BvHV RNA was not found in any other small mammal species (n = 23) tested here. Phylogenetic and isolation-by-distance analyses confirmed the occurrence of both BvHV species (Hepacivirus F and Hepacivirus J) and their sympatric occurrence at several trapping sites in two countries. The broad geographical distribution of BvHVs across Europe was associated with their presence in bank voles of different evolutionary lineages. The extensive geographical distribution and high levels of genetic diversity of BvHVs, as well as the high population fluctuations of bank voles and occasional commensalism in some parts of Europe warrant future studies on the zoonotic potential of BvHVs.

Host genetic factors associated with the range limit of a European hantavirus

“…Understanding the factors that affect cross‐species virus emergence is the focus of research and prevention programmes but the combat against outbreaks is often impeded by very limited knowledge about the reservoir hosts (Groseth et al, 2007 ; Shi et al, 2018 ). As RNA virus evolution is mostly driven by patterns of co‐evolution and co‐divergence with host taxa (Lin et al, 2012 ; Mélade et al, 2016 ; Switzer et al, 2005 ), combining evolutionary analyses of host and virus divergence directly may allow insights that are difficult to obtain in the nonequilibrium situation of disease outbreaks (Cuypers et al, 2020 ; Schneider et al, 2021 ). The explicit consideration of the spatial context of the association of many hantaviruses with their host taxa may be particularly beneficial for clarifying the relationships and succession of events in evolutionary adaptation or host‐species switches (see also de Bellocq et al, 2015 , 2018 ; Bennett et al, 2014 ; Cuypers et al, 2020 ; Gryseels et al, 2017 ; Guo et al, 2013 ; Martinů et al, 2020 ; Saxenhofer et al, 2017 , 2019 ; Worobey et al, 2010 ).…”

“…Understanding the factors that affect cross-species virus emergence is the focus of research and prevention programmes but the combat against outbreaks is often impeded by very limited knowledge about the reservoir hosts (Groseth et al, 2007;Shi et al, 2018). As RNA virus evolution is mostly driven by patterns of co-evolution and co-divergence with host taxa (Lin et al, 2012;Mélade et al, 2016;Switzer et al, 2005), combining evolutionary analyses of host and virus divergence directly may allow insights that are difficult to obtain in the nonequilibrium situation of disease outbreaks (Cuypers et al, 2020;Schneider et al, 2021).…”

The Bank Vole (Clethrionomys glareolus)—Small Animal Model for Hepacivirus Infection

“…in different organs (Table S1). In 13 animals, liver and/or blood samples were found to be RT-qPCR-positive (cycle threshold [Ct] value: [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. The two RT-qPCR-negative animals had been inoculated with strain F208 (Hepacivirus J) and were sacrificed on days 14 and 28 p.i.…”

“…These BvHV lineages were recently classified as species Hepacivirus F (clade 2) and Hepacivirus J (clade 1) [28]. Both BvHV species were shown to have a broad geographical distribution in Europe with a sympatric occurrence at several sites in Germany [29]. Therefore, the novel BvHV species were analyzed in their natural host, the bank vole, under experimental conditions, allowing virus propagation and also the collection of first defined diagnostic reference materials.…”