title: First isolation of an Entomobirnavirus from free-living insects.
abstract: Drosophila X virus (DXV), the prototype Entomobirnavirus, is a well-studied RNA virus model. Its origin is unknown, and so is that of the only other entomobirnavirus, Espirito Santo virus (ESV). We isolated an entomobirnavirus tentatively named Culex Y virus (CYV) from hibernating Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes in Germany. CYV was detected in three pools consisting of 11 mosquitoes each. Full-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analyses suggested that CYV and ESV define one sister species to DXV within the genus Entomobirnavirus. In contrast to the laboratory-derived ESV, the ORF5 initiation codon AUG was mutated to (1927)GUG in all three wild-type CYV isolates. Also in contrast to ESV, replication of CYV was not dependent on other viruses in insect cell culture. CYV could provide a wild-type counterpart in research fields relying on DXV and other cell culture-adapted strains.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marklewitz
authors.affiliation: Noctalis, Centre for Bat Protection and Information, Bad Segeberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gloza-Rausch
authors.affiliation: Center for Biological Safety-1, Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurth
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Beate Mareike
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Kümmerer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Drosten
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Junglen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D003465:Culex / Q000821:virology*; D003588:Cytopathogenic Effect, Viral; D019203:Entomobirnavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral / Q000502:physiology; D016679:Genome, Viral; D010802:Phylogeny; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins