title: Genomic and phylogenetic characterization of Merino Walk virus, a novel arenavirus isolated in South Africa.
abstract: Merino Walk virus (MWV), a proposed novel tentative species of the family Arenaviridae, was isolated from a rodent, Myotomys unisulcatus, collected at Merino Walk, Eastern Cape, South Africa, in 1985. Full-length genomic sequence confirmed MWV as an arenavirus related distantly to Mobala, Mopeia and Ippy viruses, all members of the Old World arenavirus complex. We propose MWV as a tentative novel species in the Lassa-lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus complex, based on its isolation from a novel rodent species and its genetic and serological characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Center for Infection and Immunity, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. gp2050@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palacios
authors.forename: Nazir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Savji
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Travassos da Rosa
authors.forename: Vsevolod
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Popov
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Briese
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tesh
authors.forename: W Ian
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: Lipkin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001117:Arenaviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D018049:Arenaviruses, Old World / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016679:Genome, Viral; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D051189:Murinae / Q000821:virology*; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology; D013019:South Africa; D014709:Vero Cells
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral