Detection of Two Highly Diverse Peribunyaviruses in Mosquitoes from Palenque, Mexico

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Anne Kopp, Berlin Institute of Health; Alexandra Huebner, Berlin Institute of Health; Florian Zirkel, University of Bonn; Daniel Hobelsberger, University of Regensburg; Alejandro Estrada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; Ingo Jordan, ProBioGen AG; Thomas R. Gillespie, Emory University; Christian Drosten, Berlin Institute of Health; Sandra Junglen, Berlin Institute of Health
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-09-01
• Publisher: MDPI
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: Copyright © 2019 by the authors.Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/v11090832
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Viruses
• ISSN: 1999-4915
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 9
• Grant/Funding Information: The work was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG; grant agreement number JU2857/3 to S.J.); by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF; project number 01KI1716 to S.J.) as part of the Research Network Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; by the German Ministry of Research and Education (German Center for Infection Research; TTU 01.801 to C.D.); and by Emory University.; We acknowledge support from the German Research Foundation (DFG); and the Open Access Publication Fund of Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
• Keywords: Virology; arbovirus; Science & Technology; MAYARO VIRUS; MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION; orthobunyavirus; Peribunyaviridae; CELL-LINE; OROPOUCHE FEVER; mosquito; PHYLOGENETIC CHARACTERIZATION; ARBOVIRUS; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; ORTHOBUNYAVIRUSES; NONSTRUCTURAL PROTEIN NSM; insect-specific virus; Mexico; BUNYAMWERA VIRUS; INFECTION
• Research Categories: Environmental Sciences; Biology, Virology

Abstract

The Peribunyaviridae family contains the genera Orthobunyavirus, Herbevirus, Pacuvirus, and Shangavirus. Orthobunyaviruses and pacuviruses are mainly transmitted by blood-feeding insects and infect a variety of vertebrates whereas herbeviruses and shangaviruses have a host range restricted to insects. Here, we tested mosquitoes from a tropical rainforest in Mexico for infections with peribunyaviruses. We identified and characterized two previously unknown viruses, designated Baakal virus (BKAV) and Lakamha virus (LAKV). Sequencing and de novo assembly of the entire BKAV and LAKV genomes revealed that BKAV is an orthobunyavirus and LAKV is likely to belong to a new genus. LAKV was almost equidistant to the established peribunyavirus genera and branched as a deep rooting solitary lineage basal to herbeviruses. Virus isolation attempts of LAKV failed. BKAV is most closely related to the bird-associated orthobunyaviruses Koongol virus and Gamboa virus. BKAV was successfully isolated in mosquito cells but did not replicate in common mammalian cells from various species and organs. Also cells derived from chicken were not susceptible. Interestingly, BKAV can infect cells derived from a duck species that is endemic in the region where the BKAV-positive mosquito was collected. These results suggest a narrow host specificity and maintenance in a mosquito-bird transmission cycle.