Reassortment of Thogoto virus (a tick-borne influenza-like virus) in a vertebrate host.
Reassortment is an important factor in the evolution of segmented genome viruses. For arthropod-borne viruses it is important to determine whether the vertebrate host acts as a site of reassortant virus formation since vertebrates often act as amplifying hosts. Mutants of Thogoto virus, a tick-borne orthomyxo-like virus, were shown to produce wild-type progeny in a dually infected permissive host (hamster), when hamsters were infected with two mutant viruses either by direct inoculation or by oral transmission from infected ticks. Viral dose and time of co-infection of the host affected the incidence of reassortment. This is the first report of reassortment of an arbovirus following infection of a vertebrate host via an arthropod vector.
D000818:Animals; D001103:Arboviruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D006224:Cricetinae; D008647:Mesocricetus / Q000382:microbiology; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D013696:Temperature; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014779:Virus Replication