Isolation, characterization and prevalence of a novel Gammaherpesvirus in Eptesicus fuscus, the North American big brown bat

Sonu Subudhi; Noreen Rapin; Nicole Dorville; Janet E Hill; Jennifer Town; Craig K R Willis; Trent K Bollinger; Vikram Misra

doi:10.1016/j.virol.2018.01.024

Isolation, characterization and prevalence of a novel Gammaherpesvirus in Eptesicus fuscus, the North American big brown bat

Virology. 2018 Mar:516:227-238. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2018.01.024.

Authors

Sonu Subudhi¹, Noreen Rapin¹, Nicole Dorville², Janet E Hill¹, Jennifer Town³, Craig K R Willis², Trent K Bollinger⁴, Vikram Misra⁵

Affiliations

¹ Departments of Veterinary Microbiology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
² Department of Biology, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
³ Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
⁴ Departments of Veterinary Pathology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
⁵ Departments of Veterinary Microbiology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Electronic address: vikram.misra@usask.ca.

PMID: 29407381
DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2018.01.024

Abstract

Little is known about the relationship of Gammaherpesviruses with their bat hosts. Gammaherpesviruses are of interest because of their long-term infection of lymphoid cells and their potential to cause cancer. Here, we report the characterization of a novel bat herpesvirus isolated from a big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) in Canada. The genome of the virus, tentatively named Eptesicus fuscus herpesvirus (EfHV), is 166,748 base pairs. Phylogenetically EfHV is a member of Gammaherpesvirinae, in which it belongs to the Genus Rhadinovirus and is closely related to other bat Gammaherpesviruses. In contrast to other known Gammaherpesviruses, the EfHV genome contains coding sequences similar to those of class I and II host major histocompatibility antigens. The virus is capable of infecting and replicating in human, monkey, cat and pig cell lines. Although we detected EfHV in 20 of 28 big brown bats tested, these bats lacked neutralizing antibodies against the virus.

Keywords: Bats; Canada; Characterization; Chiroptera; Eptesicus fuscus; Gammaherpesvirus; Genome; Prevalence.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Animals
Canada
Cats
Cell Line
Chiroptera / virology*
Gammaherpesvirinae / classification
Gammaherpesvirinae / genetics
Gammaherpesvirinae / isolation & purification*
Gammaherpesvirinae / physiology
Haplorhini
Humans
Phylogeny
Swine
United States
Virus Replication