New lyssavirus genotype from the Lesser Mouse-eared Bat (Myotis blythi), Kyrghyzstan.

Yohko T Arai,Yosuke Kameoka,Ivan V Kuzmin,Alexandr D Botvinkin

doi:10.3201/eid0903.020252

Abstract

The Aravan virus was isolated from a Lesser Mouse-eared Bat (Myotis blythi) in the Osh region of Kyrghyzstan, central Asia, in 1991. We determined the complete sequence of the nucleoprotein (N) gene and compared it with those of 26 representative lyssaviruses obtained from databases. The Aravan virus was distinguished from seven distinct genotypes on the basis of nucleotide and amino acid identity. Phylogenetic analysis based on both nucleotide and amino acid sequences showed that the Aravan virus was more closely related to genotypes 4, 5, and—to a lesser extent—6, which circulates among insectivorus bats in Europe and Africa. The Aravan virus does not belong to any of the seven known genotypes of lyssaviruses, namely, rabies, Lagos bat, Mokola, and Duvenhage viruses and European bat lyssavirus 1, European bat lyssavirus 2, and Australian bat lyssavirus. Based on these data, we propose a new genotype for the Lyssavirus genus.

Highlights

The Aravan virus was isolated from a Lesser Mouse-eared Bat (Myotis blythi) in the Osh region of Kyrghyzstan, central Asia, in 1991
Lagos bat virus was isolated from frugivorous bats (Eidolon helvum) in Nigeria in 1956 [3] and in 1974 from another bat (Micropterus pusillus) in the Central Africa Republic [4]
Aravan virus was originally isolated from the brain of a lesser mouse-eared bat (Myotis blythi) in Kyrghyzstan in 1991

Summary

Introduction

The Aravan virus was isolated from a Lesser Mouse-eared Bat (Myotis blythi) in the Osh region of Kyrghyzstan, central Asia, in 1991. Aravan virus was originally isolated from the brain of a lesser mouse-eared bat (Myotis blythi) in Kyrghyzstan in 1991. Phylogenetic Analysis The 1350-nt and the deduced 450 amino acid (aa) sequences of the N gene of the Aravan virus were aligned with 26 lyssaviruses by using Clustal W program [34].

Results

Conclusion