Abstract
The discovery of highly divergent lineages of hantaviruses (family Hantaviridae) in shrews, moles, and bats of multiple species raises the possibility that non-rodent hosts may have played a significant role in their evolutionary history. To further investigate this prospect, total RNA was extracted from RNAlater®-preserved lung tissues of 277 bats (representing five families, 14 genera and 40 species), captured in Myanmar and Vietnam during 2013–2016. Hantavirus RNA was detected in two of 15 black-bearded tomb bats (Taphozous melanopogon) and two of 26 Pomona roundleaf bats (Hipposideros pomona) in Myanmar, and in three of six ashy leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideros cineraceus) in Vietnam. Pair-wise alignment and comparison of coding regions of the S, M, and L segments of hantaviruses from Taphozous and Hipposideros bats revealed high nucleotide and amino acid sequence similarities to prototype Láibīn virus (LAIV) and Xuân Sơn virus (XSV), respectively. Phylogenetic analyses, generated by maximum-likelihood and Bayesian methods, showed a geographic clustering of LAIV strains from China and Myanmar, but not of XSV strains from China and Vietnam. These findings confirm that the black-bearded tomb bat is the natural reservoir of LAIV, and that more than one species of Hipposideros bats can host XSV.
Highlights
Based on the phylogenetic analysis of the full-length S and M segments, members of the genusHantavirus in the former family Bunyaviridae have been recently reclassified into a new family, Viruses 2019, 11, 228; doi:10.3390/v11030228 www.mdpi.com/journal/virusesViruses 2019, 11, 228 designated Hantaviridae, of the order Bunyavirales [1,2]
Hantaviruses hosted by bats have been assigned to the Loanvirus and Mobatvirus genera [2,3]
LAIV RNA was detected by nested RT-PCR in two of 15 black-bearded tomb bats captured in
Summary
Based on the phylogenetic analysis of the full-length S and M segments, members of the genusHantavirus in the former family Bunyaviridae have been recently reclassified into a new family, Viruses 2019, 11, 228; doi:10.3390/v11030228 www.mdpi.com/journal/virusesViruses 2019, 11, 228 designated Hantaviridae, of the order Bunyavirales [1,2]. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of the full-length S and M segments, members of the genus. Hantavirus in the former family Bunyaviridae have been recently reclassified into a new family, Viruses 2019, 11, 228; doi:10.3390/v11030228 www.mdpi.com/journal/viruses. Viruses 2019, 11, 228 designated Hantaviridae, of the order Bunyavirales [1,2]. In this revised taxonomic classification, hantaviruses have been assigned to four newly defined genera: Loanvirus, Mobatvirus, Orthohantavirus, and Thottimvirus [2]. Hantaviruses hosted by bats (order Chiropera, suborder Yangochiroptera, and Yinpterochiroptera) have been assigned to the Loanvirus and Mobatvirus genera [2,3].
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