Muju virus, a novel hantavirus harboured by the arvicolid rodent Myodes regulus in Korea.
Acute-phase sera from >5 % of cases of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome occurring annually in Korea have been found to exhibit a fourfold or higher antibody titre to Puumala virus (PUUV) than to Hantaan virus (HTNV) by double-sandwich IgM ELISA, suggesting the existence of a PUUV-related hantavirus. Based on the phylogenetic relationships among arvicolid rodents, the royal vole (Myodes regulus) was targeted as a likely reservoir host of hantavirus. Using RT-PCR, a genetically distinct hantavirus, designated Muju virus (MUJV), was detected in lung tissue of royal voles, captured in widely separated geographical regions in Korea during 1996-2007. Pairwise analysis of the full-length S (1857 nt) and M (3634 nt) segments of MUJV indicated approximately 77 % sequence similarity with PUUV. At the amino acid level, MUJV differed from PUUV by 5.5-6.9 % (nucleocapsid) and 10.0-11.6 % (Gn and Gc envelope glycoproteins). Interstrain variation of MUJV sequences from royal voles captured in different regions suggested geographic-specific clustering. Neutralizing antibody titres against PUUV were two- to sixfold higher than to HTNV in sera of MUJV-infected Myodes regulus. Although virus isolation attempts were unsuccessful, the collective data indicate that MUJV is a distinct hantavirus species.
Song
Ki-Joon
KJ
Bank for Pathogenic Viruses, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Baek
Luck Ju
LJ
Bank for Pathogenic Viruses, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Moon
Sungsil
S
Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Ha
Si Jung
SJ
Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Kim
Sang Hyun
SH
Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Park
Kwang Sook
KS
Bank for Pathogenic Viruses, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Klein
Terry A
TA
Force Health Protection, 18th Medical Command, Unit 15281, APO AP 96205, Korea.
Sames
William
W
Force Health Protection, 18th Medical Command, Unit 15281, APO AP 96205, Korea.
Kim
Heung-Chul
HC
5th Medical Detachment, 168th Medical Battalion (Area Support), 18th Medical Command, Unit 15247, APO AP 96205, Korea.
Lee
John S
JS
Virology Division, US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Frederick, MD, USA.
Yanagihara
Richard
R
Department of Pediatrics, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.
Song
Jin-Won
JW
Bank for Pathogenic Viruses, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000821:virology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018778:Hantavirus Infections / Q000662:veterinary*; D007723:Korea; D008168:Lung / Q000821:virology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004279:DNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins