Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Alphaherpesvirus in Fruit Bats

Abstract

Bats are known to harbor emerging RNA viruses. Recent studies have used high-throughput sequencing technology to identify various virus species, including DNA viruses that are harbored by bats; however, little is known about the nature of these potentially novel viruses. Here, we report the characterization of a novel herpesvirus isolated from an Indonesian pteropodid bat. The virus, tentatively named fruit bat alphaherpesvirus 1 (FBAHV1), has a double-stranded DNA genome of 149,459 bp. The phylogenetic analyses suggested that FBAHV1 is phylogenetically grouped with simplexviruses within the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae. Inoculation of FBAHV1 into laboratory mice caused a lethal infection. Virus infection was observed in lung, liver, and brain tissue. Serological and PCR screening revealed that fruit bats infected with FBAHV1 or its related virus are widely distributed in Indonesia. The identification of FBAHV1 makes a considerable contribution to our understanding of simplexviruses associated with bats. IMPORTANCEBats are known to harbor emerging viruses, such as lyssaviruses, henipaviruses, severe acute respiratory syndrome-like coronaviruses, and filoviruses. Although alphaherpesviruses are disseminated in humans and other animals, there is little information about their distribution in bats. Here, we isolated a previously unknown alphaherpesvirus from an Indonesian fruit bat. Genome sequence analysis suggested that the virus is a member of the genus Simplexvirus within the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae, which also includes common human viruses, such as herpes simplex virus 1 and herpes simplex virus 2. FBAHV1 is the first batderived alphaherpesvirus whose complete genome has been sequenced.

Identification of Novel Betaherpesviruses in Iberian Bats Reveals Parallel Evolution

“…No alphaherpesviruses were detected in this study nor in the study by Wibbelt et al [7] who analyzed bat lung tissues. However, evidence of alphaherpesviruses in other bats has recently been provided from spleen tissues of Indonesian fruitbats [5], and from throat swabs and salivary glands of other fruit bats from the genera Eidolon and Pteropus [6]. The absence of alphaherpesviruses in bats aside from fruit bats could indicate that bat alphaherpesviruses evolved only in the Pteropodidae family.…”

“…Evidence of alphaherpesviruses has recently been found in pteropid bats such as Eidolon helvum , E . dupreanum , Pteropus lylei (a nectarivorous bat), Lonchophylla thomasi , and an unidentified bat [5, 6]. Several betaherpesviruses and gammaherpesviruses have also been detected in bats from the families Vespertilionidae [7,8], Miniopteridae [9, 10], Pteropodidae [11], Hipposideridae [12] and Rhinolophidae [8].…”

Bats as ‘special’ reservoirs for emerging zoonotic pathogens

“…Recent studies have confirmed an ancient phylogenetic relationship between bats and a suite of other viral pathogens: in addition to lyssaviruses and henipaviruses, bats are now posited as the most ancestral host taxon for the entire family of paramyxoviruses (of which henipaviruses represent one genus [9]), as well as for CoVs [10], hepadnaviruses related to human hepatitis B virus [11], and hepaciviruses related to hepatitis C virus [12]. Bats also demonstrate deep phylogenetic relationships with influenza A virus [13], filoviruses [14], and simplex viruses [15]. Several authors have compiled informative reviews [16][17][18] and meta-analyses [19,20] from various perspectives, continually asking 'Are bats special in their reservoir roles for zoonotic pathogens?'…”

High prevalence and diversity of viruses of the subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae, family Herpesviridae, in fecal specimens from bats of different species in southern China

“…The prevalence of HVs of the three subfamilies in many bat species was found in previous studies to be high [7][8][9][10][11]. Eight bat species, with prevalence rates of 3.47-33.33 %, were sampled from four areas of southern China in this study.…”

“…In 2007, Wibbelt and co-workers first confirmed the presence of HVs in bats [7]. Recently, several studies have documented the high prevalence of HVs with diverse genetic characteristics in bats originating from the Philippines, Madagascar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Germany, and Hungary [8][9][10][11][12]. In 2012, four new HVs, two betaherpesviruses and two gammaherpesviruses, were identified in bats in China, using sequence-independent PCR amplification and next-generation sequencing technology, targeting the concatenated glycoprotein B (gB) and DNA-directed DNA polymerase (DPOL) genes of HVs [13].…”