Identification and characterization of Jingmen tick virus in rodents from Xinjiang, China

Jingmen tick virus (JMTV) is a recently identified virus which provides an unexpected connection between segmented and unsegmented RNA viruses. Recent investigations reveal that JMTV including JMTV-like virus (Alongshan virus) could be associated with human disease, suggesting the significance of JMTV in public health. To better understand the genetic diversity and host range of JMTV, a total of 164 rodents representing 8 species were collected in Qapqal Xibe county of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, and were screened for JMTVs using RT- PCR. Consequently, JMTV was identified in 42 rodents including 23 Microtus arvalis voles (24.5%), 9 Apodemus uralensis mice (29.0%), 5 Mus musculus mice, 1 Rhombomys opimus gerbil, 1 Meriones tamariscinus gerbil, 1 Meriones libycus gerbil, 1 Cricetulus migratorius hamster and 1 Microtus gregalis vole. Interestingly, nearly complete genome sequences were successfully recovered from 7 JMTV positive samples. Although the newly identified rodent JMTVs were closely related to those previously identified in ticks from China, based on the phylogenetic analysis of the S1, S2 and S3 segments, the newly identified rodent viruses clustered into two genetic groups. One group comprised of viruses only found in M. arvalis, while another group included viruses from A. uralensis, C. migratorius and M. gregalis. However, all rodent viruses clustered together in the S4 tree. Considering rodents live in close proximity to humans, more efforts are needed to investigate the role of rodents in the evolution and transmission of JMTV in nature.