Abstract
Hunnivirus is a novel member of the family Picornaviridae. A single species, Hunnivirus A, is currently described. However, there is limited information on the identification of Hunnivirus to date, and thereby the circulation of Hunnivirus is not fully understood. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence, genomic characteristics, and evolution of rat hunnivirus in southern China. A total of 404 fecal samples were subjected to detection of Hunnivirus from urban rats (Rattus norvegicus and Rattus tanezumi) using PCR assay based on specific primers targeted to partial 3D regions, with the prevalence of 17.8% in Rattus norvegicus and 15.6% in Rattus tanezumi. An almost full-length rat hunnivirus sequence (RatHuV/YY12/CHN) and the genome structure were acquired in the present study. Phylogenetic analysis of the P1 coding regions suggested the RatHuV/YY12/CHN sequence was found to be within the genotype of Hunnivirus A4. The negative selection was further identified based on analysis of non-synonymous to synonymous substitution rates. The present findings suggest that hunniviruses are common in urban rats. Further research is needed for increased surveillance and awareness of potential risks to human health.
Highlights
Hunnivirus belongs to a genus within the family Picornaviridae, recently established by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) in 2013
We investigated 404 fecal samples of rats from Xiamen (n = 31), Malipo (n = 48), Yiyang (n = 83), Guangzhou (n = 146), and Maoming (n = 96) in southern China for the detection of rat hunnivirus
Rattus norvegicus had a higher positive rate (17.8%, 64/359) of hunnivirus than Rattus tanezumi (15.6%, 7/45)
Summary
Hunnivirus belongs to a genus within the family Picornaviridae, recently established by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) in 2013 (https://talk. ictvonline.org/ictv/proposals/2013.008a-dV.A.v2.Hunnivirus.pdf, accessed on 3 October 2020). Hunnivirus belongs to a genus within the family Picornaviridae, recently established by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) in 2013 According to the ICTV, the family Picornaviridae is currently divided into 68 genera, containing 158 known species (www.picornaviridae.com, accessed on 20 May 2021), many of which result in significant diseases in humans and various animals. At least nine genotypes of Hunnivirus have been described: hunnivirus A1 (formerly bovine hungarovirus 1) [1], hunnivirus A2 (formerly ovine hungarovirus 1) [1], hunnivirus A3 (isolated from sheep cell cultures), hunnivirus A4 (Norway rat hunnivirus) [2], and hunnivirus A5–A9 (https: //www.picornaviridae.com/hunnivirus/hunnivirus.htm, accessed on 20 May 2021). The hunnivirus sequences isolated from different host species share a typical genome organization, which are composed of VPg, 5 UTRIRES-II, a single polyprotein encoding a leader protein (L), P1 (VP4-VP2-VP3-VP1), P2 (2Anpgp-2B-2C) and P3 (3A-3BVPg-3Cpro-3Dpol) proteins, 3 UTR, and a poly (A) tail. The P1 region encodes the viral capsid proteins, while the P2 and P3 regions encode nonstructural proteins related to protein processing and genome replication [1]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
