Phylogenetic relationship of rabies virus (Rabies lyssavirus) in two different host species

Abstract

Rabies is a fatal zoonosis that infects several mammal’s species. Bats are recognized hosts of the rabies virus and their main food source is the blood of other mammals, especially cattle. When feeding, bats transmit the virus to cattle which are victims of the disease, contributing to economic losses and risk of infection for humans. Based on this affinity in the rabies cycle between bats and cattle, the objective of this work was to analyze the phylogenetic relationships of rabies virus samples in both hosts, cattle and bats. The G gene of rabies virus was chosen for this research because it is directly related to the infection process. Nucleotide sequences of the viral G gene were selected in GenBank from samples obtained from infected cattle and bats. Maximum parsimony analyzes were conducted using the Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) software. The Maxima Parsimony tree indicated a phylogenetic relationship between the G gene of both hosts, indicating that the virus evolved from bats to cattle. Analysis of the parsimoniously informative sites revealed that the viral G gene presented specific mutations in each host. Knowledge about the evolutionary relationships of the rabies virus and its hosts is critical to identify potential new hosts and possible new routes of infection for humans.