title: Characterisation of divergent flavivirus NS3 and NS5 protein sequences detected in Rhipicephalus microplus ticks from Brazil.
abstract: Transcripts similar to those that encode the nonstructural (NS) proteins NS3 and NS5 from flaviviruses were found in a salivary gland (SG) complementary DNA (cDNA) library from the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus. Tick extracts were cultured with cells to enable the isolation of viruses capable of replicating in cultured invertebrate and vertebrate cells. Deep sequencing of the viral RNA isolated from culture supernatants provided the complete coding sequences for the NS3 and NS5 proteins and their molecular characterisation confirmed similarity with the NS3 and NS5 sequences from other flaviviruses. Despite this similarity, phylogenetic analyses revealed that this potentially novel virus may be a highly divergent member of the genus Flavivirus. Interestingly, we detected the divergent NS3 and NS5 sequences in ticks collected from several dairy farms widely distributed throughout three regions of Brazil. This is the first report of flavivirus-like transcripts in R. microplus ticks. This novel virus is a potential arbovirus because it replicated in arthropod and mammalian cells; furthermore, it was detected in a cDNA library from tick SGs and therefore may be present in tick saliva. It is important to determine whether and by what means this potential virus is transmissible and to monitor the virus as a potential emerging tick-borne zoonotic pathogen.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto.
authors.forename: Sandra Regina
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto.
authors.forename: Luiza Antunes
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Castro-Jorge
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto.
authors.forename: José Marcos Chaves
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, RockvilleMD, USA.
authors.forename: Luiz Gustavo
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Gardinassi
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto.
authors.forename: Gustavo Rocha
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto.
authors.forename: Lucinda Giampietro
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Brandão
authors.affiliation: Vallée SA, São PauloSP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Aline Rezende
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Tecnologia, AraçatubaSP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Marcos Ituo
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto.
authors.forename: Emiliana Pereira
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Abrão
authors.affiliation: Universidade de São Paulo, Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Ribeirão PretoSP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Beatriz Rossetti
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto.
authors.forename: Benedito Antonio Lopes da
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto.
authors.forename: Isabel Kinney Ferreira de
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Miranda-Santos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002417:Cattle; D017124:Conserved Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D005416:Flavivirus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015723:Gene Library; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020365:RNA Helicases / Q000737:chemistry; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D048494:Rhipicephalus / Q000821:virology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein / Q000379:methods; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000737:chemistry; D014020:Tissue Extracts / Q000032:analysis; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D043583:Nucleoside-Triphosphatase; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D000085242:Viral Proteases
chemical_list: D020365:RNA Helicases; D012367:RNA, Viral; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D014020:Tissue Extracts; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; C060028:NS3 protein, flavivirus; D043583:Nucleoside-Triphosphatase; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D000085242:Viral Proteases; C096041:NS5 protein, flavivirus