Rabies virus in insectivorous bats: implications of the diversity of the nucleoprotein and glycoprotein genes for molecular epidemiology.
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.
Oliveira
Rafael de Novaes
Rde N
Instituto Pasteur of São Paulo, CEP 01311-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. rafaeldenovaes@yahoo.com.br
de Souza
Sibele Pinheiro
SP
Lobo
Renata Spinelli Vaz
RS
Castilho
Juliana Galera
JG
Macedo
Carla Isabel
CI
Carnieli
Pedro
P
Fahl
Willian Oliveira
WO
Achkar
Samira Maria
SM
Scheffer
Karin Corrêa
KC
Kotait
Ivanete
I
Carrieri
Maria Luiza
ML
Brandão
Paulo Eduardo
PE
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*
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D006023:Glycoproteins; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C064951:glycoprotein G, Rabies virus; C099601:nucleocapsid protein, Rabies virus