Molecular Phylogeny of Hantaviruses Harbored by Insectivorous Bats in Côte d’Ivoire and Vietnam

Abstract

The recent discovery of genetically distinct hantaviruses in multiple species of shrews and moles prompted a further exploration of their host diversification by analyzing frozen, ethanol-fixed and RNAlater®-preserved archival tissues and fecal samples from 533 bats (representing seven families, 28 genera and 53 species in the order Chiroptera), captured in Asia, Africa and the Americas in 1981–2012, using RT-PCR. Hantavirus RNA was detected in Pomona roundleaf bats (Hipposideros pomona) (family Hipposideridae), captured in Vietnam in 1997 and 1999, and in banana pipistrelles (Neoromicia nanus) (family Vespertilionidae), captured in Côte d’Ivoire in 2011. Phylogenetic analysis, based on the full-length S- and partial M- and L-segment sequences using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods, demonstrated that the newfound hantaviruses formed highly divergent lineages, comprising other recently recognized bat-borne hantaviruses in Sierra Leone and China. The detection of bat-associated hantaviruses opens a new era in hantavirology and provides insights into their evolutionary origins.

Co-circulation of soricid- and talpid-borne hantaviruses in Poland

“…Recent discovery of genetically distinct hantaviruses in shrews and moles, and the detection of a highly divergent lineage of hantaviruses in insectivorous bats from sub-Saharan Africa (Gu et al, 2014b; Sumibcay et al, 2012; Weiss et al, 2012) and Asia (Arai et al, 2013; Gu et al, 2014b; Guo et al, 2013), have forced a reframing of their evolutionary origins and phylogeography. That these newfound hantaviruses are genetically more diverse than those hosted by rodents suggests a complex evolutionary history.…”

“…cDNA, synthesized using the SuperScript III First-Strand Synthesis Systems (Invitrogen), were analyzed for hantavirus RNA by RT-PCR, using oligonucleotide primers designed from highly conserved regions of hantavirus genomes (Table 2) (Song et al, 2007b, 2007c, 2009; Kang et al, 2009a, 2009b; Gu et al, 2013, 2014a, 2014b). …”

Reconstructing the evolutionary origins and phylogeography of hantaviruses

“…A new frontier Guided by decades-old historical accounts associating hantaviruses (family Bunyaviridae , genus Hantavirus ) with shrews [1–4] and moles [5], and empowered by molecular technology and the generosity of museum curators and field mammalogists who willingly granted access to their archival tissue collections, opportunistic investigations have resulted in the identification of genetically distinct and phylogenetically divergent lineages of hantaviruses in multiple species of shrews and moles (order Eulipotyphla, families Soricidae and Talpidae) [6–27] and insectivorous bats (order Chiroptera; see Glossary) [28–32] from widely separated geographic regions. These newfound hantaviruses broaden our knowledge about their reservoir host distribution significantly beyond that of rodents (order Rodentia, families Muridae and Cricetidae).…”

“…Each of these species, and many other species of shrews and moles, representing five subfamilies and two families of Eulipotyphla, have been shown to host hantaviruses (Table S1) whose genetic diversity far surpasses that of hantaviruses carried by rodents [6–27]. In addition, highly divergent lineages of hantaviruses have been identified in seven species of insectivorous bats, including the banana pipistrelle ( Neoromicia nanus ) in Côte d’Ivoire [28,32], hairy slit-faced bat ( Nycteris hispida ) in Sierra Leone [29], Pomona roundleaf bat ( Hipposideros pomona ) in Vietnam [30,32], and Japanese house bat ( Pipistrellus abramus ), Chinese horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus sinicus ), Formosan lesser horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus monoceros ), and intermediate horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus affinis ) in China [31] (Table S1). …”

Genetic diversity of Talpa europaea and Nova hantavirus (NVAV) in France

“…of the Muridae and Cricetidae families, have been detected in multiple species of shrews (Soricidae) and moles (Talpidae) (Yanagihara et al, 2014). More recently, highly divergent lineages of hantaviruses have also been discovered in insectivorous bats (Gu et al, 2014b; Guo et al, 2013; Yanagihara et al, 2014; Table 1). In-depth studies of non-rodent hosts, which are heavily represented among micro-mammals all around the world, may provide a better understanding about their evolutionary origins.…”