Abstract
Rhabdoviridae is the most diverse family of the negative, single-stranded RNA viruses, which includes 40 ecologically different genera that infect plants, insects, reptiles, fishes, and mammals, including humans, and birds. To date, only a few bird-related rhabdoviruses among the genera Sunrhavirus, Hapavirus, and Tupavirus have been described and analyzed at the molecular level. In this study, we characterized seven additional and previously unclassified rhabdoviruses, which were isolated from various bird species collected in Africa during the 1960s and 1970s. Based on the analysis of their genome sequences obtained by next generation sequencing, we observed a classical genomic structure, with the presence of the five canonical rhabdovirus genes, i.e., nucleoprotein (N), phosphoprotein (P), matrix protein (M), glycoprotein (G), and polymerase (L). In addition, different additional open reading frames which code putative proteins of unknown function were identified, with the common presence of the C and the SH proteins, within the P gene and between the M and G genes, respectively. Genetic comparisons and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that these seven bird-related rhabdoviruses could be considered as putative new species within the genus Sunrhavirus, where they clustered into a single group (named Clade III), a companion to two other groups that encompass mainly insect-related viruses. The results of this study shed light on the high diversity of the rhabdoviruses circulating in birds, mainly in Africa. Their close relationship with other insect-related sunrhaviruses raise questions about their potential role and impact as arboviruses that affect bird communities.
Highlights
Rhabdoviruses are enveloped RNA viruses belonging to the order Mononegavirales.They are characterized by a bullet or rod shape and contain a single or segmented molecule of linear negative-strand RNA of a size approximately 10−16 kb, which contains the five canonical genes encoding the nucleoprotein (N), the phosphoprotein (P), the matrix protein (M), the glycoprotein (G), and the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (L) [1,2]
Our results demonstrated that these seven bird-related rhabdoviruses could represent putative individual new species which are phylogenetically clustered into a single group within the genus Sunrhavirus
Only 12 rhabdoviruses have been identified in birds
Summary
Rhabdoviruses are enveloped RNA viruses belonging to the order Mononegavirales.They are characterized by a bullet or rod shape and contain a single or segmented molecule of linear negative-strand RNA of a size approximately 10−16 kb, which contains the five canonical genes encoding the nucleoprotein (N), the phosphoprotein (P), the matrix protein (M), the glycoprotein (G), and the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (L) [1,2]. The family Rhabdoviridae is the most diverse within the Mononegavirales, with 40 different genera and 246 species according to the latest update by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV: https://talk.ictvonline.org/, accessed on 25 September 2021) [2]. The members of this family exhibit a large ecological diversity, with pathogens infecting various plants or animals, including mammals, such as livestock and humans, insects, fishes, reptiles, and birds. Dozens of putative or unclassified new species are waiting to be assigned to potential new genera in the near future Taxonomy of these viruses was based on virion morphology and serological cross-reactivity. As the development of molecular and sequencing techniques have become more and more efficient and available, genotyping is considered to be a key element in viral taxonomy [9,10]
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