Host switch during evolution of a genetically distinct hantavirus in the American shrew mole (Neurotrichus gibbsii)

Virology. 2009 May 25;388(1):8-14. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2009.03.019. Epub 2009 Apr 23.

Abstract

A genetically distinct hantavirus, designated Oxbow virus (OXBV), was detected in tissues of an American shrew mole (Neurotrichus gibbsii), captured in Gresham, Oregon, in September 2003. Pairwise analysis of full-length S- and M- and partial L-segment nucleotide and amino acid sequences of OXBV indicated low sequence similarity with rodent-borne hantaviruses. Phylogenetic analyses using maximum-likelihood and Bayesian methods, and host-parasite evolutionary comparisons, showed that OXBV and Asama virus, a hantavirus recently identified from the Japanese shrew mole (Urotrichus talpoides), were related to soricine shrew-borne hantaviruses from North America and Eurasia, respectively, suggesting parallel evolution associated with cross-species transmission.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biological Evolution*
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions
  • Moles / virology*
  • Oregon
  • Orthohantavirus / genetics*
  • Orthohantavirus / physiology*
  • Phylogeny
  • RNA, Viral / genetics
  • RNA, Viral / isolation & purification

Substances

  • RNA, Viral