Isolation and identification of Tete virus group (Peribunyaviridae: Orthobunyavirus) from Culicoides biting midges collected in Lichuan County, China

Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2023 Oct 31:13:1193184. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1193184. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

In July 2018, a virus (JXLC1806-2) was isolated from Culicoides biting midges collected in Lichuan County, Jiangxi Province, China. The virus isolate showed significant cytopathic effects within 48 hours after inoculation with mammalian cells (BHK-21). JXLC1806-2 virus could form plaques in BHK-21 cells, and the virus titer was 1×105.6 pfu/mL. After inoculation with the virus, suckling mice developed disease and died. The nucleotide and amino sequence analysis showed that the JXLC1806-2 virus genome was composed of S, M and L segments. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the S, M and L genes of JXLC1806-2 virus belonged to the Tete serogroup, Orthobunyavirus, but formed an independent evolutionary branch from the other members of the Tete serogroup. The results showed that the JXLC1806-2 virus, which was named as Lichuan virus, is a new member of Tete serogroup, and this is the first time that a Tete serogroup virus has been isolated in China.

Keywords: Culicoides biting midges; Orthobunyavirus; Tete virus; evolution; lichuan virus (LICV).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Ceratopogonidae* / genetics
  • China
  • Genome, Viral
  • Mammals / genetics
  • Mice
  • Orthobunyavirus* / genetics
  • Phylogeny