Muju Virus, Harbored by Myodes regulus in Korea, Might Represent a Genetic Variant of Puumala Virus, the Prototype Arvicolid Rodent-Borne Hantavirus

Jin Lee,Jin-Won Song,Kwang Park,Richard Yanagihara,Se Gu,Heung-Chul Kim,Terry Klein,Luck Baek,Ok Shin

doi:10.3390/v6041701

Jin Lee, Jin-Won Song + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/v6041701

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Abstract

The genome of Muju virus (MUJV), identified originally in the royal vole (Myodes regulus) in Korea, was fully sequenced to ascertain its genetic and phylogenetic relationship with Puumala virus (PUUV), harbored by the bank vole (My. glareolus), and a PUUV-like virus, named Hokkaido virus (HOKV), in the grey red-backed vole (My. rufocanus) in Japan. Whole genome sequence analysis of the 6544-nucleotide large (L), 3652-nucleotide medium (M) and 1831-nucleotide small (S) segments of MUJV, as well as the amino acid sequences of their gene products, indicated that MUJV strains from different capture sites might represent genetic variants of PUUV, the prototype arvicolid rodent-borne hantavirus in Europe. Distinct geographic-specific clustering of MUJV was found in different provinces in Korea, and phylogenetic analyses revealed that MUJV and HOKV share a common ancestry with PUUV. A better understanding of the taxonomic classification and pathogenic potential of MUJV must await its isolation in cell culture.

Highlights

23 hantaviruses, found in reservoir murid and cricetid rodent species in Eurasia, Africa and the Americas, have been recognized as distinct species by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) [1]
(and Hokkaido virus (HOKV)); (III) because Muju virus (MUJV) has not been isolated in cell culture, two-way cross-neutralization tests with Puumala virus (PUUV) cannot be performed; and (IV) there was no evidence of naturally occurring reassortment of MUJV
The “7%-difference rule”, which was derived at a time when far less was known about the host range and genetic diversity of hantaviruses, may need to be re-examined, in view of findings that the amino acid sequence differences of the nucleocapsid protein (Np) and glycoprotein precursor (GPC) between PUUV strains may be up to 8% and 11%, respectively [15], exceeding the ICTV criterion of 7%

Summary

Introduction

23 hantaviruses (genus Hantavirus, family Bunyaviridae), found in reservoir murid and cricetid rodent species in Eurasia, Africa and the Americas, have been recognized as distinct species by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) [1]. Several of the unclassified hantaviruses are not distinct species but instead represent genetic variants or genotypes of well-recognized hantavirus species. Many examples of Sin Nombre virus (SNV) and Andes virus (ANDV), causing hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), have been detected in sigmodontine and neotomine rodent species. Many of the recently identified soricomorph- and chiropteran-borne hantaviruses probably represent new species and remain unassigned largely because they have not been isolated in cell culture and exist only as partial or full-length sequences, making their taxonomic classification, using the current ICTV criteria more difficult

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