Abstract
Bats, the second largest order of mammals worldwide, harbor specific characteristics such as sustaining flight, a special immune system, unique habits, and ecological niches. In addition, they are the natural reservoirs of a variety of emerging or re-emerging zoonotic pathogens. Rhabdoviridae is one of the most diverse families of RNA viruses, which consists of 20 ecologically diverse genera, infecting plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish. To date, three bat-related genera are described, named Lyssavirus, Vesiculovirus, and Ledantevirus. However, the prevalence and the distribution of these bat-related rhabdoviruses remain largely unknown, especially in China. To fill this gap, we performed a large molecular retrospective study based on the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) detection of lyssavirus in bat samples (1044 brain and 3532 saliva samples, from 63 different bat species) originating from 21 provinces of China during 2006–2018. None of them were positive for lyssavirus, but six bat brains (0.6%) of Rhinolophus bat species, originating from Hubei and Hainan provinces, were positive for vesiculoviruses or ledanteviruses. Based on complete genomes, these viruses were phylogenetically classified into three putative new species, tentatively named Yinshui bat virus (YSBV), Taiyi bat virus (TYBV), and Qiongzhong bat virus (QZBV). These results indicate the novel rhabdoviruses circulated in different Chinese bat populations.
Highlights
Bats belong to the second largest mammalian order, Chiroptera, which includes over 1350 extant species belonging to 21 bat families, within the two suborders, Yinpterochiroptera and Yangochiroptera [1,2]
In the past two decades, numerous emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases were demonstrated or suspected to be connected with bats [11], including infections associated with coronavirus with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) [12,13]; Middle-East respiratory syndrome (MERS) [14]; and, more recently, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19) [15], as well as acute fatal hemorrhagic diseases caused by filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg viruses) [16,17] and henipaviruses (Hendra and Nipah viruses) [18,19,20], and viral encephalitis with rabies caused by lyssavirus infection [21,22,23,24]
Samples, were collected between 2006 and 2018 in 21 provinces of China from 63 bat species representing 23 genera belonging to 8 families (Figure 1, Table 1 and Tables S1–S3)
Summary
Bats belong to the second largest mammalian order, Chiroptera, which includes over 1350 extant species belonging to 21 bat families, within the two suborders, Yinpterochiroptera and Yangochiroptera [1,2]. These mammals have an extensive geographical distribution and present various unique characteristics such as the capability of sustaining flight and migration, a gregarious behavior, and an important longevity compared with their size and their lifestyle [3]. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that bats are infected with or can host various pathogens, mainly viruses, without displaying clinical symptoms [4,5] This ability to resist or tolerate viral infection may be directly related to their special immune system [6,7,8]. In the past two decades, numerous emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases were demonstrated or suspected to be connected with bats [11], including infections associated with coronavirus with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) [12,13]; Middle-East respiratory syndrome (MERS) [14]; and, more recently, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19) [15], as well as acute fatal hemorrhagic diseases caused by filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg viruses) [16,17] and henipaviruses (Hendra and Nipah viruses) [18,19,20], and viral encephalitis with rabies caused by lyssavirus infection [21,22,23,24]
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