title: New world bats harbor diverse influenza A viruses.
abstract: Aquatic birds harbor diverse influenza A viruses and are a major viral reservoir in nature. The recent discovery of influenza viruses of a new H17N10 subtype in Central American fruit bats suggests that other New World species may similarly carry divergent influenza viruses. Using consensus degenerate RT-PCR, we identified a novel influenza A virus, designated as H18N11, in a flat-faced fruit bat (Artibeus planirostris) from Peru. Serologic studies with the recombinant H18 protein indicated that several Peruvian bat species were infected by this virus. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that, in some gene segments, New World bats harbor more influenza virus genetic diversity than all other mammalian and avian species combined, indicative of a long-standing host-virus association. Structural and functional analyses of the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase indicate that sialic acid is not a ligand for virus attachment nor a substrate for release, suggesting a unique mode of influenza A virus attachment and activation of membrane fusion for entry into host cells. Taken together, these findings indicate that bats constitute a potentially important and likely ancient reservoir for a diverse pool of influenza viruses.
authors.affiliation: Division of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Suxiang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Xueyong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Mang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bourgeois
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xianfeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Recuenco
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: Li-Mei
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Cyrille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dreyfus
authors.forename: Wenli
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Carney
authors.forename: Amy T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: Jessie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Zhu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Charles T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Paulson
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Charles E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Rupprecht
authors.forename: Edward C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: Ian A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Ruben O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Donis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000821:virology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000821:virology*; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / Q000235:genetics*; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics*; D009976:Orthomyxoviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000662:veterinary; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus