title: Complete genome sequence and molecular phylogeny of a newfound hantavirus harbored by the Doucet's musk shrew (Crocidura douceti) in Guinea.
abstract: Elucidation of the molecular phylogeny of shrew-borne hantaviruses in sub-Saharan Africa has been hampered by the lack of full-length viral genomes. In this report, we present the complete genome analysis of a newfound hantavirus, designated Bowé virus, detected in ethanol-fixed intercostal muscle of a Doucet's musk shrew (Crocidura douceti), captured in southwestern Guinea in February 2012. Full-length amino acid sequence comparison of the S-, M- and L-segment gene products revealed that Bowé virus differed by 24.1-53.4%, 17.0-59.9% and 14.6-39.7%, respectively, from all other representative rodent-, shrew- and mole-borne hantaviruses. Phylogenetic analysis, using maximum-likelihood and Bayesian methods, under the GTR+I+Γ model of evolution, showed that Bowé virus shared a common ancestry with Tanganya virus, a hantavirus detected in the Therese's shrew (Crocidura theresae) in Guinea. Whole genome analysis of many more hantaviruses from sub-Saharan Africa are needed to better clarify how the radiation of African shrews might have contributed to the phylogeography of hantaviruses.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics and Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.
authors.forename: Se Hun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Violaine
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nicolas
authors.forename: Aude
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lalis
authors.forename: Nuankanya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sathirapongsasuti
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yanagihara
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D016679:Genome, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D016701:Guinea; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018778:Hantavirus Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D007366:Intercostal Muscles / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012788:Shrews / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Crocidura; Guinea; Hantavirus; Phylogeny; Shrew