scholarly journals Novel Viruses Found in Antricola Ticks Collected in Bat Caves in the Western Amazonia of Brazil

Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Lie Blomström ◽  
Hermes R. Luz ◽  
Pontus Öhlund ◽  
Matthew Lukenge ◽  
Paulo Eduardo Brandão ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Viruses ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Blood Feeding ◽  
Dominant Group ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Adult Feeding ◽  
Viral Sequences ◽  
Negative Sense ◽  
Bat Guano

In this study, we describe the viral composition of adult Antricola delacruzi ticks collected in a hot bat cave in the state of Rondônia, Western Amazonia, Brazil. A. delacruzi ticks, are special, compared to many other ticks, in that they feed on both bats (larval blood feeding) and bat guano (nymphal and adult feeding) instead of feeding exclusively on vertebrate hosts (blood feeding). Considering this unique life-cycle it is potentially possible that these ticks can pick up/be infected by viruses not only present in the blood of viremic bats but also by virus shed through the bat guano. The viral metagenomic investigation of adult ticks showed that single-stranded negative-sense RNA viruses were the dominant group of viruses identified in the investigated ticks. Out of these, members of the Nairoviridae family were in clear majority constituting 88% of all viral reads in the data set. Genetic and phylogenetic analyses indicate the presence of several different orthonairoviruses in the investigated ticks with only distant relationship to previously described ones. In addition, identification of viral sequences belonging to Orthomyxoviridae, Iflaviridae, Dicistroviridae, Polycipiviridae, Reoviridae and different unclassified RNA viruses showed the presence of viruses with low sequence similarity to previously described viruses.

scholarly journals Novel RNA Viruses from the Transcriptome of Pheromone Glands in the Pink Bollworm Moth, Pectinophora gossypiella

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 556
Author(s):  
Xiaoyi Dou ◽  
Sijun Liu ◽  
Victoria Soroker ◽  
Ally Harari ◽  
Russell Jurenka
Keyword(s):  
Rna Viruses ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Pink Bollworm ◽  
Pectinophora Gossypiella ◽  
Sequencing Data ◽  
Viral Pathogens ◽  
Field Samples ◽  
Viral Sequences ◽  
Negative Sense ◽  
Pink Bollworm Moth

In this study, we analyzed the transcriptome obtained from the pheromone gland isolated from two Israeli populations of the pink bollworm Pectinophora gossypiella to identify viral sequences. The lab population and the field samples carried the same viral sequences. We discovered four novel viruses: two positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses, Pectinophora gossypiella virus 1 (PecgV1, a virus of Iflaviridae) and Pectinophora gossypiella virus 4 (PecgV4, unclassified), and two negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses, Pectinophora gossypiella virus 2 (PecgV2, a virus of Phasmaviridae) and Pectinophora gossypiella virus 3 (PecgV3, a virus of Phenuiviridae). In addition, sequences derived from two negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses that belong to Mononegavirales were found in the data. Analysis of previous transcriptome sequencing data derived from the midgut of pink bollworm larvae of a USA population only identified PecgV1, but no other viruses. High viral sequence coverages of PecgV1 and PecgV4 were observed in both field and lab populations. This is the first report of viral sequences discovered from the pink bollworm. Results from this investigation suggest that the pink bollworm harbors multiple viruses. Further investigation of the viral pathogens may help to develop novel pest management strategies for control of the pink bollworm.

scholarly journals A Sister Lineage of Sampled Retroviruses Corroborates the Complex Evolution of Retroviruses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianhua Wang ◽  
Guan-Zhu Han
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Rna Viruses ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Ribonuclease H ◽  
Genome Architecture ◽  
Major Lineage ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
Negative Sense ◽  
Complex Evolutionary History

Abstract The origin and deep history of retroviruses remain mysterious and contentious, largely because the diversity of retroviruses is incompletely understood. Here, we report the discovery of lokiretroviruses, a novel major lineage of retroviruses, within the genomes of a wide range of vertebrates (at least 137 species), including lampreys, ray-finned fishes, lobe-finned fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. Lokiretroviruses share a similar genome architecture with known retroviruses, but display some unique features. Interestingly, lokiretrovirus Env proteins share detectable similarity with fusion glycoproteins of viruses within the Mononegavirales order, blurring the boundary between retroviruses and negative sense single-stranded RNA viruses. Phylogenetic analyses based on reverse transcriptase demonstrate that lokiretroviruses are sister to all the retroviruses sampled to date, providing a crucial nexus for studying the deep history of retroviruses. Comparing congruence between host and virus phylogenies suggests lokiretroviruses mainly underwent cross-species transmission. Moreover, we find that retroviruses replaced their ribonuclease H and integrase domains multiple times during their evolutionary course, revealing the importance of domain shuffling in the evolution of retroviruses. Overall, our findings greatly expand our views of the diversity of retroviruses, and provide novel insights into the origin and complex evolutionary history of retroviruses.

scholarly journals A Divergent Articulavirus in an Australian Gecko Identified Using Meta-Transcriptomics and Protein Structure Comparisons

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayda Susana Ortiz-Baez ◽  
John-Sebastian Eden ◽  
Craig Moritz ◽  
Edward C. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Protein Structure ◽  
Protein Structure Prediction ◽  
Structure Prediction ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Rna Viruses ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Gene Segment ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Evolutionary Information ◽  
Negative Sense

The discovery of highly divergent RNA viruses is compromised by their limited sequence similarity to known viruses. Evolutionary information obtained from protein structural modelling offers a powerful approach to detect distantly related viruses based on the conservation of tertiary structures in key proteins such as the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). We utilised a template-based approach for protein structure prediction from amino acid sequences to identify distant evolutionary relationships among viruses detected in meta-transcriptomic sequencing data from Australian wildlife. The best predicted protein structural model was compared with the results of similarity searches against protein databases. Using this combination of meta-transcriptomics and protein structure prediction we identified the RdRp (PB1) gene segment of a divergent negative-sense RNA virus, denoted Lauta virus (LTAV), in a native Australian gecko (Gehyra lauta). The presence of this virus was confirmed by PCR and Sanger sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Lauta virus likely represents a newly described genus within the family Amnoonviridae, order Articulavirales, that is most closely related to the fish virus Tilapia tilapinevirus (TiLV). These findings provide important insights into the evolution of negative-sense RNA viruses and structural conservation of the viral replicase among members of the order Articulavirales.

scholarly journals The discovery, distribution and evolution of viruses associated with Drosophila melanogaster

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire L Webster ◽  
Fergal M Waldron ◽  
Shaun Robertson ◽  
Daisy Crowson ◽  
Giada Ferrari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Rna Viruses ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Virus Infections ◽  
Dna Virus ◽  
Novel Mirna ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Virus Research ◽  
Viral Sequences

Drosophila melanogaster is a valuable invertebrate model for viral infection and antiviral immunity, and is a focus for studies of insect-virus coevolution. Here we use a metagenomic approach to identify more than 20 previously undetected RNA viruses and a DNA virus associated with wild D. melanogaster. These viruses not only include distant relatives of known insect pathogens, but also novel groups of insect-infecting viruses. By sequencing virus-derived small RNAs we show that the viruses represent active infections of Drosophila. We find that the RNA viruses differ in the number and properties of their small RNAs, and we detect both siRNAs and a novel miRNA from the DNA virus. Analysis of small RNAs also allows us to identify putative viral sequences that lack detectable sequence similarity to known viruses. By surveying >2000 individually collected wild adult Drosophila we show that more than 30% of D. melanogaster carry a detectable virus, and more than 6% carry multiple viruses. However, despite a high prevalence of the Wolbachia endosymbiont—which is known to be protective against virus infections in Drosophila—we were unable to detect any relationship between the presence of Wolbachia and the presence of any virus. Using publicly available RNA-seq datasets we show that the community of viruses in Drosophila laboratories is very different from that seen in the wild, but that some of the newly discovered viruses are nevertheless widespread in laboratory lines and are ubiquitous in cell culture. By sequencing viruses from individual wild-collected flies we show that some viruses are shared between D. melanogaster and D. simulans. Our results provide an essential evolutionary and ecological context for host-virus interaction in Drosophila, and the newly reported viral sequences will help develop D. melanogaster further as a model for molecular and evolutionary virus research.

A world of viruses nested within parasites: Unraveling viral diversity within parasitic flatworms (Platyhelminthes)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nolwenn M Dheilly ◽  
Yannick Blanchard ◽  
Karyna Rosario ◽  
Pierrick Lucas
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Blood Feeding ◽  
Viral Reservoirs ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Host Shifts ◽  
Zoonotic Viruses ◽  
Need To Evaluate ◽  
Parasitic Lifestyle ◽  
Viral Sequences

Because parasites have an inextricable relationship with their host, they have the potential to serve as viral reservoirs or facilitate virus host-shifts. Yet, little is known about viruses infecting parasitic hosts except for blood-feeding arthropods that are well-known vectors of zoonotic viruses. Herein we uncover viruses of flatworms (Phylum Platyhelminthes, group Neodermata) that specialize in parasitizing vertebrates and their ancestral free-living relatives. We discovered 115 novel viral sequences, including 1 in Macrostomorpha, 5 in Polycladida, 44 in Tricladida, 1 in Monogenea, 15 in Cestoda and 49 in Trematoda, through data mining. The majority of newly identified viruses constitute novel families or genera. Phylogenetic analyses show that the virome of flatworms changed dramatically during the transition of Neodermatans to a parasitic lifestyle. Most Neodermatan viruses seem to co-diversify with their host , with the exception of rhabdoviruses which may switch host more often, based on phylogenetic relationships. Neodermatan rhabodviruses also have an ancestral position to vertebrate-associated viruses, including Lyssaviruses, suggesting that vertebrate rhabdoviruses emerged from a flatworm rhabdovirus in a parasitized host. This study reveals an extensive diversity of viruses in Platyhelminthes and highlights the need to evaluate the role of viral infection in flatworm-associated diseases.

scholarly journals Structure Unveils Relationships between RNA Virus Polymerases

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 313
Author(s):  
Heli A. M. Mönttinen ◽  
Janne J. Ravantti ◽  
Minna M. Poranen
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Tree ◽  
Rna Viruses ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Structural Similarity ◽  
Functional Differentiation ◽  
Comparison Method ◽  
Homologous Structure ◽  
Biological Entities

RNA viruses are the fastest evolving known biological entities. Consequently, the sequence similarity between homologous viral proteins disappears quickly, limiting the usability of traditional sequence-based phylogenetic methods in the reconstruction of relationships and evolutionary history among RNA viruses. Protein structures, however, typically evolve more slowly than sequences, and structural similarity can still be evident, when no sequence similarity can be detected. Here, we used an automated structural comparison method, homologous structure finder, for comprehensive comparisons of viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRps). We identified a common structural core of 231 residues for all the structurally characterized viral RdRps, covering segmented and non-segmented negative-sense, positive-sense, and double-stranded RNA viruses infecting both prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts. The grouping and branching of the viral RdRps in the structure-based phylogenetic tree follow their functional differentiation. The RdRps using protein primer, RNA primer, or self-priming mechanisms have evolved independently of each other, and the RdRps cluster into two large branches based on the used transcription mechanism. The structure-based distance tree presented here follows the recently established RdRp-based RNA virus classification at genus, subfamily, family, order, class and subphylum ranks. However, the topology of our phylogenetic tree suggests an alternative phylum level organization.

scholarly journals The Complete DNA Sequence of the Mitochondrial Genome of a “Living Fossil,” the Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae)

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 146 (3) ◽  
pp. 995-1010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Zardoya ◽  
Axel Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Genome ◽  
Tandem Repeats ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Large Data ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Living Fossil ◽  
Latimeria Chalumnae ◽  
Relationship Of

The complete nucleotide sequence of the 16,407-bp mitochondrial genome of the coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) was determined. The coelacanth mitochondrial genome order is identical to the consensus vertebrate gene order which is also found in all ray-finned fishes, the lungfish, and most tetrapods. Base composition and codon usage also conform to typical vertebrate patterns. The entire mitochondrial genome was PCR-amplified with 24 sets of primers that are expected to amplify homologous regions in other related vertebrate species. Analyses of the control region of the coelacanth mitochondrial genome revealed the existence of four 22-bp tandem repeats close to its 3′ end. The phylogenetic analyses of a large data set combining genes coding for rRNAs, tRNA, and proteins (16,140 characters) confirmed the phylogenetic position of the coelacanth as a lobe-finned fish; it is more closely related to tetrapods than to ray-finned fishes. However, different phylogenetic methods applied to this largest available molecular data set were unable to resolve unambiguously the relationship of the coelacanth to the two other groups of extant lobe-finned fishes, the lungfishes and the tetrapods. Maximum parsimony favored a lungfish/coelacanth or a lungfish/tetrapod sistergroup relationship depending on which transversion:transition weighting is assumed. Neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood supported a lungfish/tetrapod sistergroup relationship.

scholarly journals Marisediminicola antarctica gen. nov., sp. nov., an actinobacterium isolated from the Antarctic

2010 ◽  
Vol 60 (11) ◽  
pp. 2535-2539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Rong Li ◽  
Yong Yu ◽  
Wei Luo ◽  
Yin-Xin Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Intertidal Sediment ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Optimum Growth ◽  
Temperature Range ◽  
Zhongshan Station ◽  
Diamino Acid ◽  
Ph Range ◽  
The Antarctic

Strain ZS314T was isolated from a sandy intertidal sediment sample collected from the coastal area off the Chinese Antarctic Zhongshan Station, east Antarctica (6 ° 22′ 13″ S 7 ° 21′ 41″ E). The cells were Gram-positive, motile, short rods. The temperature range for growth was 0–26 °C and the pH for growth ranged from 5 to 10, with optimum growth occurring within the temperature range 18–23 °C and pH range 6.0–8.0. Growth occurred in the presence of 0–6 % (w/v) NaCl, with optimum growth occurring in the presence of 2–4 % (w/v) NaCl. Strain ZS314T had MK-10 as the major menaquinone and anteiso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0 and anteiso-C17 : 0 as major fatty acids. The cell-wall peptidoglycan type was B2β with ornithine as the diagnostic diamino acid. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol. The genomic DNA G+C content was approximately 67 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity showed that strain ZS314T represents a new lineage in the family Microbacteriaceae. On the basis of the phylogenetic analyses and phenotypic characteristics, a new genus, namely Marisediminicola gen. nov., is proposed, harbouring the novel species Marisediminicola antarctica sp. nov. with the type strain ZS314T (=DSM 22350T =CCTCC AB 209077T).

scholarly journals Nesterenkonia alkaliphila sp. nov., an alkaliphilic, halotolerant actinobacteria isolated from the western Pacific Ocean

2015 ◽  
Vol 65 (Pt_2) ◽  
pp. 516-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaiyun Zhang ◽  
Yubian Zhang ◽  
Xijie Yin ◽  
Shuang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Western Pacific Ocean ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Link Type ◽  
The Western Pacific

A Gram-staining-positive, aerobic, motile and non-spore-forming actinobacteria, designated strain F10T, was isolated from a deep-sea sediment of the western Pacific Ocean. Phylogenetic and phenotypic properties of the organism supported that it belonged to the genus Nesterenkonia . Strain F10T shared highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 96.8 % with Nesterenkonia aethiopica DSM 17733T, followed by Nesterenkonia xinjiangensis YIM 70097T (96.7 %) and Nesterenkonia alba CAAS 252T (96.6 %). The organism grew at 4–50 °C, at pH 7.0–12.0 and in the presence of 0–12 % (w/v) NaCl, with optimal growth occurring at 40 °C, at pH 9.0 and in the presence of 1 % (w/v) NaCl. The peptidoglycan type was A4(alpha), l-Lys–Gly–l-Glu. The polar lipid profile of strain F10T consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, two unknown glycolipids and two unknown lipids. The isolate contained MK-9 (92 %) and MK-8 (5.8 %) as the major components of the menaquinone system, and anteiso-C17 : 0 (50.9 %) and anteiso-C15 : 0 (29.8 %) as the predominant fatty acids. The G+C content of the genomic DNA of strain F10T was 66.2 mol%. Based on phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic analyses, strain F10T represents a novel species of the genus Nesterenkonia for which the name Nesterenkonia alkaliphila sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is F10T ( = LMG 28112T = CGMCC 1.12781T = JCM 19766T = MCCC 1A09946T).

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