Detection of novel gammaherpesviruses from fruit bats in Indonesia

Abstract

Bats are an important natural reservoir of zoonotic viral pathogens. We previously isolated an alphaherpesvirus in fruit bats in Indonesia, and here establish the presence of viruses belonging to other taxa of the family Herpesviridae. We screened the same fruit bat population with pan-herpesvirus PCR and discovered 68 sequences of novel gammaherpesvirus, designated 'megabat gammaherpesvirus' (MgGHV). A phylogenetic analysis of approximately 3.4 kbp of continuous MgGHV sequences encompassing the glycoprotein B gene and DNA polymerase gene revealed that the MgGHV sequences are distinct from those of other reported gammaherpesviruses. Further analysis suggested the existence of co-infections of herpesviruses in Indonesian fruit bats. Our findings extend our understanding of the infectious cycles of herpesviruses in bats in Indonesia and the phylogenetic diversity of the gammaherpesviruses.

Novel herpesviruses in neotropical bats and their relationship with other members of the Herpesviridae family

“…The first description of bat herpesvirus sequences dates back to 2007 (Wibbelt et al, 2007). Over the past decade, dozens of herpesvirus sequences have been described from different bat species on every continent (Anthony et al, 2013;Baker et al, 2013a;Dacheux et al, 2014;Dietrich et al, 2018;Donaldson et al, 2010;Escalera-Zamudio et al, 2016;Ge et al, 2012;Geldenhuys et al, 2018;He et al, 2013;Holz et al, 2018;Hu et al, 2017;Jánoska et al, 2011;Li et al, 2010aLi et al, , 2010bMolnár et al, 2008;Mühldorfer et al, 2011;Noguchi et al, 2018;Paige Brock et al, 2013;Pozo et al, 2016;Razafindratsimandresy et al, 2009;Salmier et al, 2017;Sano et al, 2015;Sasaki et al, 2014;Shabman et al, 2016;Subudhi et al, 2018;Wada et al, 2018;Watanabe et al, 2010;Watanabe et al, 2009;Wray et al, 2016;Wu et al, 2012;Yang et al, 2013;Zhang et al, 2012;Zheng et al, 2016Zheng et al, , 2018. Most of them were characterized from apparently healthy animals sampled during trapping campaigns in the frame of random surveillance programs.…”

“…As of November 2019, when it was last updated, the DBatVir (http://www.mgc.ac.cn/ DBatVir/) database reported 233 bat herpesvirus sequences (Chen et al, 2014). A few others have not yet been included (Holz et al, 2018;Noguchi et al, 2018;Wada et al, 2018). They are distributed among the three Herpesvirinae subfamilies, but more than half of them (144 sequences) are unclassified Herpesviridae.…”

Bats Oxidative Stress Defense

“…Bats have been known to be a reservoir of various viruses that are harmful to humans but not damaging to bats (Anindita et al, 2015;Dharmayanti & Sendow, 2015;Kobayashi et al, 2015;Sasaki et al, 2016, Sendow et al, 2010Wada et al, 2018). Bats have a unique immune component that prevents damage due to viral infections Pavlovich et al, 2018;Schountz, Baker, Butler, & Munster, 2017).…”

Quantitative Delineation of Herpesviruses in Bats for use in Ecological Studies

“…Bats generally have a negative reputation as carriers of deadly viruses that cause human diseases such as rabies, Nipah, and SARS (Wibbelt et al 2010), and consequently, most research on bat viruses has focused on these pathogens of concern for public health. Although a number of studies have also detected herpesviruses in bats (Wibbelt et al 2007, Razafindratsimandresy et al 2009, Zhang et al 2012, Sasaki et al 2014, Pozo et al 2016, Zheng et al 2016, Holz et al 2018, Wada et al 2018, little is known about viral shedding, host specificity, or the diversity of herpesviruses in bats (Zheng et al 2016).…”

“…Multiple bat species come into close proximity within caves where they roost, presenting an opportunity for cross-species viral dispersal. Indeed, cross-species transmission and host switching are common, and have likely been the norm throughout the evolutionary history of the herpesvirus lineage, especially in bat hosts (Escalera-Zamudio et al 2016, Zheng et al 2016, Azab et al 2018, Wada et al 2018).…”