Genetic identification and characterization of limestone canyon virus, a unique Peromyscus-borne hantavirus.
Hantaviruses, family Bunyaviridae, are rodent-borne RNA viruses that can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in various regions of the Americas. A coevolutionary relationship exists between hantaviruses and their specific rodent reservoir hosts; the phylogeny of the viruses generally matches that of the rodents. There are several Peromyscus-borne hantaviruses, including Sin Nombre virus, the most common cause of HPS in North America. This report describes the genetic detection and characterization of a newly discovered Peromyscus boylii-borne virus, Limestone Canyon (LSC) virus, the most divergent member of the Peromyscus-borne hantaviruses to date. Analysis of a 1209-nucleotide region of the S segment of LSC virus showed it to be more closely related to hantaviruses found in harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis and R. mexicanus) than to other Peromyscus-associated hantaviruses (Sin Nombre, New York, and Monongahela). Phylogenetic analysis of virtually the entire M genome segment (3489 nucleotides) of LSC virus revealed a similar picture in which LSC virus was found to be very distinct from other Peromyscus-associated viruses, but its exact relationship to the other Peromyscus-borne and the Reithrodontomys-borne viruses was not resolved. These results indicate that hantavirus host species-jumping events can occur by which a hantavirus may switch to, and become established in, a rodent host belonging to a different genus. P. boylii are present throughout the southwestern United States and central Mexico. More extensive screening of HPS patients by using RT-PCR assays will be necessary to determine if LSC virus can cause human disease.
Sanchez
A J
AJ
Special Pathogens Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
Abbott
K D
KD
Nichol
S T
ST
D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D018778:Hantavirus Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010542:Peromyscus / Q000821:virology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral