TY - JOUR
T1 - Xinyang flavivirus, from Haemaphysalis flava ticks in Henan Province, China, defines a basal, likely tick-only Orthoflavivirus clade
AU - Wang, Lan Lan
AU - Cheng, Qia
AU - Newton, Natalee D.
AU - Wolfinger, Michael T.
AU - Morgan, Mahali S.
AU - Slonchak, Andrii
AU - Khromykh, Alexander A.
AU - Cheng, Tian Yin
AU - Parry, Rhys H.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors.
Accession Number
WOS:001297188100014
PubMed ID
38809251
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Tick-borne orthoflaviviruses (TBFs) are classified into three conventional groups based on genetics and ecology: mammalian, seabird and probable-TBF group. Recently, a fourth basal group has been identified in Rhipicephalus ticks from Africa: Mpulungu flavivirus (MPFV) in Zambia and Ngoye virus (NGOV) in Senegal. Despite attempts, isolating these viruses in vertebrate and invertebrate cell lines or intracerebral injection of newborn mice with virus-containing homogenates has remained unsuccessful. In this study, we report the discovery of Xinyang flavivirus (XiFV) in Haemaphysalis flava ticks from Xìnyáng, Henan Province, China. Phylogenetic analysis shows that XiFV was most closely related to MPFV and NGOV, marking the first identification of this tick orthoflavivirus group in Asia. We developed a reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR assay to screen wild-collected ticks and egg clutches, with absolute infection rates of 20.75% in adult females and 15.19% in egg clutches, suggesting that XiFV could be potentially spread through transovarial transmission. To examine potential host range, dinucleotide composition analyses revealed that XiFV, MPFV and NGOV share a closer composition to classical insect-specific orthoflaviviruses than to vertebrate-infecting TBFs, suggesting that XiFV could be a tick-only orthoflavivirus. Additionally, both XiFV and MPFV lack a furin cleavage site in the prM protein, unlike other TBFs, suggesting these viruses might exist towards a biased immature particle state. To examine this, chimeric Binjari virus with XIFVprME (bXiFV) was generated, purified and analysed by SDS-PAGE and negative-stain transmission electron microscopy, suggesting prototypical orthoflavivirus size (~50 nm) and bias towards uncleaved prM. In silico structural analyses of the 3′-untranslated regions show that XiFV forms up to five pseudo-knot-containing stem-loops and a prototypical orthoflavivirus dumbbell element, suggesting the potential for multiple exoribonuclease-resistant RNA structures.
AB - Tick-borne orthoflaviviruses (TBFs) are classified into three conventional groups based on genetics and ecology: mammalian, seabird and probable-TBF group. Recently, a fourth basal group has been identified in Rhipicephalus ticks from Africa: Mpulungu flavivirus (MPFV) in Zambia and Ngoye virus (NGOV) in Senegal. Despite attempts, isolating these viruses in vertebrate and invertebrate cell lines or intracerebral injection of newborn mice with virus-containing homogenates has remained unsuccessful. In this study, we report the discovery of Xinyang flavivirus (XiFV) in Haemaphysalis flava ticks from Xìnyáng, Henan Province, China. Phylogenetic analysis shows that XiFV was most closely related to MPFV and NGOV, marking the first identification of this tick orthoflavivirus group in Asia. We developed a reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR assay to screen wild-collected ticks and egg clutches, with absolute infection rates of 20.75% in adult females and 15.19% in egg clutches, suggesting that XiFV could be potentially spread through transovarial transmission. To examine potential host range, dinucleotide composition analyses revealed that XiFV, MPFV and NGOV share a closer composition to classical insect-specific orthoflaviviruses than to vertebrate-infecting TBFs, suggesting that XiFV could be a tick-only orthoflavivirus. Additionally, both XiFV and MPFV lack a furin cleavage site in the prM protein, unlike other TBFs, suggesting these viruses might exist towards a biased immature particle state. To examine this, chimeric Binjari virus with XIFVprME (bXiFV) was generated, purified and analysed by SDS-PAGE and negative-stain transmission electron microscopy, suggesting prototypical orthoflavivirus size (~50 nm) and bias towards uncleaved prM. In silico structural analyses of the 3′-untranslated regions show that XiFV forms up to five pseudo-knot-containing stem-loops and a prototypical orthoflavivirus dumbbell element, suggesting the potential for multiple exoribonuclease-resistant RNA structures.
KW - Binjari virus
KW - chimeric virus
KW - Flavivirus
KW - Haemaphysalis flava
KW - orthoflavivirus
KW - structural RNA
KW - tick-borne orthoflavivirus
KW - tick-borne pathogen
KW - xrRNA
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85194891545&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1099/jgv.0.001991
DO - 10.1099/jgv.0.001991
M3 - Article
C2 - 38809251
AN - SCOPUS:85194891545
SN - 0022-1317
VL - 105
JO - Journal of General Virology
JF - Journal of General Virology
IS - 5
M1 - 001991
ER -