title: Chiropteran influenza viruses: flu from bats or a relic from the past?
abstract: The identification of influenza A-like genomic sequences in bats suggests the existence of distinct lineages of chiropteran influenza viruses in South and Central America. These viruses share similarities with conventional influenza A viruses but lack the canonical receptor-binding property and neuraminidase function. The inability to isolate infectious bat influenza viruses impeded further studies, however, reverse genetic analysis provided new insights into the molecular biology of these viruses. In this review, we highlight the recent developments in the field of the newly discovered bat-derived influenza A-like viruses. We also discuss whether bats are a neglected natural reservoir of influenza viruses, the risk associated with bat influenza viruses for humans and whether these viruses originate from the pool of avian IAV or vice versa.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Virology, University of Muenster, Germany. Electronic address: brunotte@uni-muenster.de.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brunotte
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beer
authors.affiliation: Transboundary Animal Diseases Research Center, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horie
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwemmle
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000821:virology; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000821:virology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000821:virology; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D009976:Orthomyxoviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus