Phylogenomic Characterization of Lopma Virus and Praja Virus, Two Novel Rodent-Borne Arteriviruses.

Bert Vanmechelen,Philippe Lemey,Zafeiro Zisi,Magda Bletsa,Bram Vrancken,Joëlle Goüy De Bellocq,Sophie Gryseels,Piet Maes

doi:10.3390/v13091842

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed the discovery of several new viruses belonging to the family Arteriviridae, expanding the known diversity and host range of this group of complex RNA viruses. Although the pathological relevance of these new viruses is not always clear, several well-studied members of the family Arteriviridae are known to be important animal pathogens. Here, we report the complete genome sequences of four new arterivirus variants, belonging to two putative novel species. These new arteriviruses were discovered in African rodents and were given the names Lopma virus and Praja virus. Their genomes follow the characteristic genome organization of all known arteriviruses, even though they are only distantly related to currently known rodent-borne arteriviruses. Phylogenetic analysis shows that Lopma virus clusters in the subfamily Variarterivirinae, while Praja virus clusters near members of the subfamily Heroarterivirinae: the yet undescribed forest pouched giant rat arterivirus and hedgehog arterivirus 1. A co-divergence analysis of rodent-borne arteriviruses confirms that they share similar phylogenetic patterns with their hosts, with only very few cases of host shifting events throughout their evolutionary history. Overall, the genomes described here and their unique clustering with other arteriviruses further illustrate the existence of multiple rodent-borne arterivirus lineages, expanding our knowledge of the evolutionary origin of these viruses.

Highlights

Over the past decade, the number of pathogens known to infect animals or humans has expanded considerably [1]
Important to the farming industry is equine arteritis virus (EAV), which causes clinically variable but potentially life-threatening equine viral arteritis. Both the aforementioned arteriviruses have a significant impact on livestock health, resulting in a worldwide economic burden on pig and horse agriculture [6,7]
We describe the discovery and genome organization of two novel arteriviruses, Lopma virus and Praja virus, which were detected in rodents from Mozambique and Tanzania, respectively

Summary

Introduction

The number of pathogens known to infect animals or humans has expanded considerably [1]. From large-scale surveillance efforts of wildlife, species-rich orders, such as bats and rodents, appear to be able to maintain and disseminate pathogens to a wide variety of other mammalian hosts [3] Both rodent and bat hosts hold tremendous potential for zoonotic transmission and are considered important natural reservoirs of infectious diseases [4]. To understand the risk of virus spillover from wildlife to humans, it is important to elucidate the association between emerging infectious diseases and 4.0/) Their zoonotic reservoirs and to identify host–pathogen interactions that could potentially threaten public health. Important to the farming industry is equine arteritis virus (EAV), which causes clinically variable but potentially life-threatening equine viral arteritis Both the aforementioned arteriviruses have a significant impact on livestock health, resulting in a worldwide economic burden on pig and horse agriculture [6,7]

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Conclusion