Hantaviruses: rediscovery and new beginnings
Richard Yanagihara1, Se Hun Gu1, Satoru Arai2
1Pacific Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Research, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 651 Ilalo Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA.
Virus Research
|January 14, 2014
Summary
New hantaviruses discovered in shrews, moles, and bats reveal a more complex evolutionary history than previously understood. These findings challenge the rodent-centric view, highlighting broader host diversity and co-evolutionary dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Molecular Phylogenetics
Background:
- Hantaviruses (family Bunyaviridae, genus Hantavirus) were thought to co-evolve primarily with rodent reservoirs.
- Recent hypotheses challenge this, proposing preferential host switching and local adaptation as key drivers of hantavirus evolution.
- Understanding hantavirus origins, diversity, and host range is crucial for assessing transmission dynamics and pathogenic potential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the host range, spatial-temporal distribution, genetic diversity, and evolutionary origins of hantaviruses.
- To analyze hantaviruses in non-rodent mammals, including shrews, moles, and bats, across multiple continents.
- To re-evaluate the co-divergence versus host-switching paradigms in hantavirus evolution.
Main Methods:
- Utilized reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect hantaviruses.
- Analyzed tissue samples from 1546 shrews, 281 moles, and 520 bats collected globally between 1980 and 2012.
- Conducted phylogenetic analyses to determine evolutionary relationships and identify novel hantavirus clades.
Main Results:
- Identified 24 novel hantaviruses in shrews, moles, and bats, demonstrating a wider host distribution than previously known.
- These newly discovered hantaviruses are geographically widespread and genetically diverse, suggesting a complex evolutionary history.
- Phylogenetic analyses revealed four distinct clades, including a divergent clade with hantaviruses from European moles and insectivorous bats, indicating both co-divergence and host switching.
Conclusions:
- The evolutionary history of hantaviruses is more complex than previously assumed, involving a broader range of mammalian hosts beyond rodents.
- Evidence supports a combination of co-divergence and host switching in hantavirus evolution, particularly in non-rodent hosts.
- Further research on these newly identified, non-rodent-borne hantaviruses is needed to understand their transmission dynamics and potential pathogenicity.
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