Isolation and identification of a natural reassortant mammalian orthoreovirus from least horseshoe bat in China

Lihua Wang; Shihong Fu; Lei Cao; Wenwen Lei; Yuxi Cao; Jingdong Song; Qing Tang; Hailin Zhang; Yun Feng; Weihong Yang; Guodong Liang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0118598

Isolation and identification of a natural reassortant mammalian orthoreovirus from least horseshoe bat in China

PLoS One. 2015 Mar 17;10(3):e0118598. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118598. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Lihua Wang¹, Shihong Fu¹, Lei Cao¹, Wenwen Lei¹, Yuxi Cao¹, Jingdong Song¹, Qing Tang¹, Hailin Zhang², Yun Feng², Weihong Yang², Guodong Liang¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Key Laboratory for Medical Virology, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, China.
² Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Yunnan, China.

Abstract

Background: Mammalian orthoreoviruses (MRVs) have a wide geographic distribution and can infect virtually all mammals. Infections in humans may be either symptomatic or asymptomatic. This study describes the isolation and identification of a natural reassortant MRV from least horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus pusillu) in China, referred to as RpMRV-YN2012.

Methods and results: The RpMRV-YN2012 was obtained from urine samples of Rhinolophus pusillus by cell culture. Negative-staining electron microscopy revealed that RpMRV-YN2012 was a non-enveloped icosahedral virus with ∼75 nm in diameter. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) migration patterns of the genome segments showed that RpMRV-YN2012 contained 10 segments in a 3:3:4 arrangement. The whole genome sequence of RpMRV2012 was determined. The consensus terminal sequences of all segments of 5'-GCUAh…yUCAUC-3' (h = A, U or C; y = C or U) were similar to the MRV species within the genus Orthoreovirus. Its evolution and evidence of genetic reassortment were analyzed by sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis. The results showed that RpMRV-YN2012 is a novel serotype 2 MRV that may have originated from reassortment among bat, human, and/or pig MRV strains which associated with diarrhea, acute gastroenteritis and necrotizing encephalopathy in animals and humans.

Conclusions: RpMRV-YN2012 is a novel bat reassortant MRV, which may have resulted from a reassortment involving MRVs known to infect humans and animals. It is necessary to identify whether RpMRV-YN2012 is associated with diarrhea, acute gastroenteritis and necrotizing encephalopathy in clinical patients. In addition, we should carefully monitor its evolution and virulence in real time.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Cell Line
China
Chiroptera / urine
Chiroptera / virology*
Genomics
Humans
Orthoreovirus, Mammalian / classification
Orthoreovirus, Mammalian / genetics
Orthoreovirus, Mammalian / isolation & purification*
Phylogeny

Grants and funding

Funding provided by National Natural Science Foundation of China (81290342); Ministry of Science and Technology, China (2011CB504702); National Key Technology R & D Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology (2014BAI13B04) and State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (2014SKLID03). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.