Characterization of Triniti virus supports its reclassification in the family Peribunyaviridae.

Juliana Abreu Lima,Raimunda Do Socorro Da Silva Azevedo,Nikos Vasilakis,Lívia Carício Martins,Robert Tesh,Sandro Patroca Da Silva,Pedro Fernando Da Costa Vasconcelos,Karoline Silva Castro,Hilda Guzman,Vsevolod Leonidovich Popov,Daniele Barbosa De Almeida Medeiros,Amélia Paes De Andrade Travassos Da Rosa,Steven Widen,Joaquim Pinto Nunes Neto,Márcio Roberto Teixeira Nunes,Jannifer Oliveira Chiang,Jedson Ferreira Cardoso

doi:10.1099/jgv.0.001196

Abstract

Triniti virus (TNTV) has been isolated in Trinidad and Tobago and in Brazil. To date little is known about this virus, which is classified as an ungrouped virus within the family Togaviridae. Here, three isolates of TNTV were characterized both genetically and antigenically. The genome was shown to contain three RNA segments: small (S), medium (M) and large (L). Genome organization, protein sizes and protein motifs were similar to those of viruses in the genus Orthobunyavirus, family Peribunyaviridae. Antigenic reactivity revealed the three TNTV isolates to be closely related, but no serologic cross-reaction with other orthobunyaviruses. Morphological observation by transmission electron microscopy indicated that virus size and symmetry were compatible with those of viruses in the family Peribunyaviridae. Our serological, morphological and molecular results support the taxonomic reclassification of TNTV as a member of the genus Orthobunyavirus, family Peribunyaviridae.

Highlights

The prototype Triniti virus (TNTV), Trinidad Regional Virus Laboratory (TRVL) 7994, was isolated from a pool of 37 Trichoprosopon mosquitoes collected in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1955 (Fig. 1) [1]
To determine the antigenic relationship of TNTV with other New World orthobunyaviruses and phleboviruses, the TNTV antigen was used in complement fixation (CF) tests against hyperimmune mouse ascitic fluids prepared for each of the 66 viruses listed in Table S1
CF tests confirmed that, based on antigenic reactivity, the three TNTV isolates were closely related to each other (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

The prototype Triniti virus (TNTV), TRVL 7994, was isolated from a pool of 37 Trichoprosopon mosquitoes collected in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1955 (Fig. 1) [1]. The virus remained uncharacterized until 1964, when scientists at the Trinidad Regional Virus Laboratory (TRVL) demonstrated that TNTV was a new, enveloped and probably arthropodborne virus [2]. In 1981, a study characterized some ungrouped viruses based on their morphological and physicochemical features; it concluded that TNTV was an enveloped spherical RNA virus about 65 nm in diameter, compatible with members of the family Togaviridae, and morphologically undifferentiated from Sindbis virus [3]. The present study sought to determine the taxonomic identity of TNTV by applying morphological, serological and genomic characterization of the virus prototype and two Brazilian isolates

Methods

Results

Conclusion