Abstract
We identified and isolated a novel Tembusu virus (TMUV) strain TP1906 (TMUV-TP1906) from a Culex annulus mosquito pool collected from the northern part of Taiwan in 2019. The TMUV-TP1906 genome is a 10,990-nucleotide-long, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA, consisting of a single open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polyprotein of 3425 amino acids, with 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs) of 94 and 618 nucleotides, respectively. The nucleotide sequence of the TMUV-TP1906 of ORF exhibited 93.71% and 91.27% similarity with Sitiawan virus (STWV) and the TMUV prototype strain MM1775, respectively. The 3′-UTR variable region of TMUV-TP1906 showed nucleotide sequence divergence with other TMUV strains. Phylogenetic analysis of the complete ORF and polyprotein sequences revealed that TMUV-TP1906 is most closely related to STWV which causes encephalitis and retarded growth in chickens. We found that the TMUV-TP1906 caused a cytopathic effect (CPE) in the DF-1 chicken fibroblast cell line, while no apparent CPE was observed in Vero and C6/36 cells. In this study, we first identified and isolated a novel TMUV strain in Taiwan. In addition, to our knowledge, it is the first time that the TMUV strain was isolated from the Cx. annulus mosquitoes. Further study is warranted to investigate the host range and virulence of TMUV-TP1906.
Highlights
Tembusu virus (TMUV) is a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus that belongs to the Flaviviridae family, Flavivirus genus and Ntaya virus group
The results indicated that the open reading frame (ORF) sequence of TMUV-TP1906 had 93.71%, 91.27% and 88% similarities to those of the Sitiawan virus (STWV), TMUV-MM1775 and duck TMUV (DTMUV)-SD14 strains, respectively
TMUV-TP1906 was isolated from the Cx. annulus mosquito pool and grew well in Vero and C6/36 cells without significant cytopathic effects
Summary
Tembusu virus (TMUV) is a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus that belongs to the Flaviviridae family, Flavivirus genus and Ntaya virus group. (TMUV-MM1775) was first isolated from Culex tritaeniorhynchus mosquitoes in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1955. Since 2000, many TMUV strains (TMUVs) have been isolated from birds and mosquitoes, including chicks, ducks, geese, pigeons, sparrows and Culex mosquitoes. TMUV consists of several genetically closely related virus strains with noticeable pathogenicity for poultry, such as Sitiawan virus (STWV), duck TMUV (DTMUV), Perak virus and Baiyangdian virus [1]. STWV was isolated from sick broiler chicks in Sitiawan District of Perak State, Malaysia in 2000 [2]. STWV-infected chicks showed encephalitis, growth retardation and increased blood sugar levels. DTMUV outbreaks occurred in layer and broiler duck farms in Pekin ducks in Malaysia in 2012 and in Thailand in 2013 [5,6]
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