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. 2016 May;22(5):833-40.
doi: 10.3201/eid2205.151566.

Genetic Characterization of Archived Bunyaviruses and their Potential for Emergence in Australia

Bixing Huang, Cadhla Firth, Daniel Watterson, Richard Allcock, Agathe M G Colmant, Jody Hobson-Peters, Peter Kirkland, Glen Hewitson, Jamie McMahon, Sonja Hall-Mendelin, Andrew F van den Hurk, David Warrilow

Genetic Characterization of Archived Bunyaviruses and their Potential for Emergence in Australia

Bixing Huang et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2016 May.

Abstract

To better understand the diversity of bunyaviruses and their circulation in Australia, we sequenced 5 viruses (Gan Gan, Trubanaman, Kowanyama, Yacaaba, and Taggert) isolated and serologically identified 4 decades ago as members of the family Bunyaviridae. Gan Gan and Trubanaman viruses almost perfectly matched 2 recently isolated, purportedly novel viruses, Salt Ash and Murrumbidgee viruses, respectively. Kowanyama and Yacaaba viruses were identified as being related to members of a large clade containing pathogenic viruses. Taggert virus was confirmed as being a nairovirus; several viruses of this genus are pathogenic to humans. The genetic relationships and historical experimental infections in mice reveal the potential for these viruses to lead to disease emergence.

Keywords: Australia; arbovirus; bunyavirus; emergence; phylogenetics; sequencing; viruses.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Bunyavirus collection and FTA card (Whatman, Maidstone, UK) sampling sites in Australia. Virus was collected from sites (open circles) in New South Wales (NSW), Queensland (QLD), and Macquarie Island (inset; 54°30S, 158°57E). Salt Ash is a town near Nelson Bay, NSW. Kowanyama is the site of the Mitchell River Mission, Queensland. FTA card sampling sites from Badu Island in the Torres Strait and Seisia and Bamaga on Cape York Peninsula are shown (star).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sequences of Salt Ash (SASHV) and Murrumbidgee virus (MURBV) in archived stocks of Gan Gan (GGV) and Trubanaman viruses, respectively, from Australia. Archived material that was designated GGV (upper panel) and Trubanaman (lower panel) virus was extracted. This material was used in an assay designed to detect the small (S), medium (M), and large (L) segments of SASHV and MURBV viruses as indicated below the panels. Lane M, 100-bp ladder (Promega Corporation, Madison, WI, USA); lanes 1–3, GGV sample 1; lanes 4–6, GGV sample 2; lanes 7–9, MURBV sample 1; lanes 10–12, MURBV sample 2.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Negatively stained electron microscopic images of Kowanyama (A, B), Yacaaba (C), and Taggert virus (D) particles from Australia. Scale bars indicate 50 nm.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Phylogenetic trees including bunyaviruses from Australia. A) Relationship of Kowanyama and Yacaaba viruses (both in boldface) to other orthobunyaviruses constructed by using the predicted open reading frame sequence of the glycoprotein with a maximum-likelihood model. B) Relationship of Taggert virus (boldface) to other nairoviruses demonstrated by using the predicted open reading frame of a short fragment of the large segment (<450 nt) and a maximum-likelihood model. Virus serologic and genetic groups are shown to the right in each panel. Bootstrap values are shown as a percentage of 1,000 replicates. GenBank accession numbers are shown. CCHF, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. Scale bars indicate amino acid substitutions per site.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Taggert virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase showing a viral homologue (vOTU) of the ovarian tumor domain. The alignment of nairoviruses shows a consensus sequence, which corresponds to the vOTU domain (–26), which has been linked to virulence. The highly conserved residues, which include the catalytic triad residues, are indicated with a black box below each column.
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