Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 19, 2026
Pan-lyssavirus Real Time RT-PCR for Rabies Diagnosis
Published on: July 10, 2019
Discovery of a Novel Bat Gammaherpesvirus
Kurtis M Host1, Blossom Damania1
1Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Abstract:
Zoonosis is the leading cause of emerging infectious diseases. In a recent article, R. S. Shabman et al. (mSphere 1[1]:e00070-15, 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.00070-15) report the identification of a novel gammaherpesvirus in a cell line derived from the microbat Myotis velifer incautus. This is the first report on a replicating, infectious gammaherpesvirus from bats. The new virus is named bat gammaherpesvirus 8 (BGHV8), also known as Myotis gammaherpesvirus 8, and is able to infect multiple cell lines, including those of human origin. Using next-generation sequencing technology, the authors constructed a full-length annotated genomic map of BGHV8. Phylogenetic analysis of several genes from BGHV8 revealed similarity to several mammalian gammaherpesviruses, including Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV).
