title: Rabies virus in insectivorous bats: implications of the diversity of the nucleoprotein and glycoprotein genes for molecular epidemiology.
abstract: Insectivorous bats are the main reservoirs of rabies virus (RABV) in various regions of the world. The aims of this study were to (a) establish genealogies for RABV strains from different species of Brazilian insectivorous bats based on the nucleoprotein (N) and glycoprotein (G) genes, (b) investigate specific RABV lineages associated with certain genera of bats and (c) identify molecular markers that can distinguish between these lineages. The genealogic analysis of N and G from 57 RABV strains revealed seven genus-specific clusters related to the insectivorous bats Myotis, Eptesicus, Nyctinomops, Molossus, Tadarida, Histiotus and Lasiurus. Molecular markers in the amino acid sequences were identified which were specific to the seven clusters. These results, which constitute a novel finding for this pathogen, show that there are at least seven independent epidemiological rabies cycles maintained by seven genera of insectivorous bats in Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Pasteur of São Paulo, CEP 01311-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. rafaeldenovaes@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Rafael de Novaes
authors.initials: Rde N
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Sibele Pinheiro
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.forename: Renata Spinelli Vaz
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Lobo
authors.forename: Juliana Galera
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Castilho
authors.forename: Carla Isabel
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Macedo
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carnieli
authors.forename: Willian Oliveira
authors.initials: WO
authors.lastname: Fahl
authors.forename: Samira Maria
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Achkar
authors.forename: Karin Corrêa
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Scheffer
authors.forename: Ivanete
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kotait
authors.forename: Maria Luiza
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Carrieri
authors.forename: Paulo Eduardo
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Brandão
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000145:classification / Q000821:virology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011818:Rabies / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D006023:Glycoproteins; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C064951:glycoprotein G, Rabies virus; C099601:nucleocapsid protein, Rabies virus