Abstract
While novel picornaviruses are being discovered in rodents, their host range and pathogenicity are largely unknown. We identified two novel picornaviruses, rosavirus B from the street rat, Norway rat, and rosavirus C from five different wild rat species (chestnut spiny rat, greater bandicoot rat, Indochinese forest rat, roof rat and Coxing's white-bellied rat) in China. Analysis of 13 complete genome sequences showed that “Rosavirus B” and “Rosavirus C” represent two potentially novel picornavirus species infecting different rodents. Though being most closely related to rosavirus A, rosavirus B and C possessed distinct protease cleavage sites and variations in Yn-Xm-AUG sequence in 5’UTR and myristylation site in VP4. Anti-rosavirus B VP1 antibodies were detected in Norway rats, whereas anti-rosavirus C VP1 and neutralizing antibodies were detected in Indochinese forest rats and Coxing's white-bellied rats. While the highest prevalence was observed in Coxing's white-bellied rats by RT-PCR, the detection of rosavirus C from different rat species suggests potential interspecies transmission. Rosavirus C isolated from 3T3 cells causes multisystemic diseases in a mouse model, with high viral loads and positive viral antigen expression in organs of infected mice after oral or intracerebral inoculation. Histological examination revealed alveolar fluid exudation, interstitial infiltration, alveolar fluid exudate and wall thickening in lungs, and hepatocyte degeneration and lymphocytic/monocytic inflammatory infiltrates with giant cell formation in liver sections of sacrificed mice. Since rosavirus A2 has been detected in fecal samples of children, further studies should elucidate the pathogenicity and emergence potential of different rosaviruses.
Highlights
Picornaviruses are positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses with icosahedral capsids
We identified two novel picornaviruses, rosavirus B and C, infecting street and wild rats respectively in China
While rosavirus B was detected from Norway rats, rosavirus C was detected from five different wild rat species by RT-PCR
Summary
Picornaviruses are positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses with icosahedral capsids. They infect various animals and human, causing various respiratory, cardiac, hepatic, neurological, mucocutaneous and systemic diseases [1, 2]. Picornaviruses are known for their potential for mutations and recombination, which may allow the generation of new variants to emerge [5,6,7,8,9,10]. There has been growing interest to understand the diversity and evolution of animal and zoonotic viruses. The discovery and characterization of novel picornaviruses is important for better understanding of their evolution, pathogenicity and emergence potential
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