Isolation and characterization of Dobrava hantavirus carried by the striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) in Estonia.

Abstract

Dobrava hantavirus (DOB) was isolated from the striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) trapped on Saaremaa Island, Estonia, and its genetic and antigenic characteristics were subsequently analysed. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Estonian DOB strain, together with several wild strains carried by Apodemus agrarius, forms a well-supported lineage within the DOB clade. The topography of the trees calculated for the S, M and L nucleotide sequences of the Estonian DOB suggests a similar evolutionary history for all three genes of this virus and, therefore, the absence of heterologous reassortment in its evolution. A cross-neutralization comparison of the Estonian virus with the prototype DOB, isolated from a yellow-necked mouse (A. flavicollis) in Slovenia, revealed 2-to 4-fold differences in the end-point titres of rabbit and human antisera. When studied with a panel of 25 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), the Estonian and Slovenian DOB isolates showed similar antigenic patterns that could be distinguished by two MAbs. Genetic comparison showed sequence differences in all three genome segments of the two DOB isolates, including an additional N-glycosylation site in the deduced sequence of the G2 protein from the Estonian virus. Whether any of these mutations relates to the different rodent hosts rather than to the distant geographical origin of the two isolates remains to be resolved. Taken together, our observations suggest that A. agrarius, which is known to harbour Hantaan virus in Asia, carries another hantavirus, DOB, in north-east Europe.

Evolution and structure of Tomato spotted wilt virus populations: evidence of extensive reassortment and insights into emergence processes

“…3). showed that reassortment occurs at rather low rates in viruses of the family Bunyaviridae (Henderson et al, 1995;Nemirov et al, 1999) or of other families (Fraile et al, 1997;Lin et al, 2004;Roossinck, 2002;Bonnet et al, 2005;Miranda et al, 2000;Iturriza-Gó mara et al, 2001;Watanabe et al, 2001;McDonald et al, 2009), which could be due to strong selection acting against reassortants (Brown et al, 2002;Fraile et al, 1997;Escriu et al, 2007). Some viral taxa seem however to show more extensive reassortment (Silander et al, 2005;Lindstrom et al, 2004;Nelson et al, 2008;Khiabanian et al, 2009).…”

Haemogregarines of the genus Hepatozoon (Apicomplexa: Adeleina) in rodents from northern Europe

“…The rodents analysed in this survey were captured using live traps (Ugglan special, Allan Ahlgren AB, Marieholm, Sweden) as part of studies investigating diseases of small mammals , Nemirov et al 1999, Soveri et al 2000. The study areas, rodent species and number of individuals examined are shown in Table 1.…”

Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome Caused by 2 Lineages of Dobrava Hantavirus, Russia1

“…Another genetic lineage of DOBV was found in the A. agrarius species on the Saaremaa island of Estonia, northeastern Europe; the Saaremaa virus has been established in cell culture (18). Later, these researchers postulated that Saaremaa virus should represent its own virus species separately from DOBV (19).…”