title: Group A Rotaviruses in Chinese Bats: Genetic Composition, Serology, and Evidence for Bat-to-Human Transmission and Reassortment.
abstract: Bats are natural reservoirs for many pathogenic viruses, and increasing evidence supports the notion that bats can also harbor group A rotaviruses (RVAs), important causative agents of diarrhea in children and young animals. Currently, 8 RVA strains possessing completely novel genotype constellations or genotypes possibly originating from other mammals have been identified from African and Chinese bats. However, all the data were mainly based on detection of RVA RNA, present only during acute infections, which does not permit assessment of the true exposure of a bat population to RVA. To systematically investigate the genetic diversity of RVAs, 547 bat anal swabs or gut samples along with 448 bat sera were collected from five South Chinese provinces. Specific reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) screening found four RVA strains. Strain GLRL1 possessed a completely novel genotype constellation, whereas the other three possessed a constellation consistent with the MSLH14-like genotype, a newly characterized group of viruses widely prevalent in Chinese insectivorous bats. Among the latter, strain LZHP2 provided strong evidence of cross-species transmission of RVAs from bats to humans, whereas strains YSSK5 and BSTM70 were likely reassortants between typical MSLH14-like RVAs and human RVAs. RVA-specific antibodies were detected in 10.7% (48/448) of bat sera by an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA). Bats in Guangxi and Yunnan had a higher RVA-specific antibody prevalence than those from Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. These observations provide evidence for cross-species transmission of MSLH14-like bat RVAs to humans, highlighting the impact of bats as reservoirs of RVAs on public health.IMPORTANCEBat viruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Ebola, Hendra, and Nipah viruses, are important pathogens causing outbreaks of severe emerging infectious diseases. However, little is known about bat viruses capable of causing gastroenteritis in humans, even though 8 group A viruses (RVAs) have been identified from bats so far. In this study, another 4 RVA strains were identified, with one providing strong evidence for zoonotic transmission from bats to humans. Serological investigation has also indicated that RVA infection in bats is far more prevalent than expected based on the detection of viral RNA.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Jilin Province for Zoonosis Prevention and Control, Military Veterinary Institute, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.|Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Biao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Fujian A&F University, College of Animal Science, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiaohong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of Chengdu Military Command, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China.
authors.forename: Fuqiang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of Nanjing Military Command, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Weilong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Viral Metagenomics, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jelle
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matthijnssens
authors.affiliation: Guangxi Veterinary Research Institute, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Shaomin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Jilin Province for Zoonosis Prevention and Control, Military Veterinary Institute, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Jilin Province for Zoonosis Prevention and Control, Military Veterinary Institute, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Zihan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Jilin Province for Zoonosis Prevention and Control, Military Veterinary Institute, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.|Fujian A&F University, College of Animal Science, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China.
authors.forename: Ling'en
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Fujian A&F University, College of Animal Science, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China.
authors.forename: Quanxi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of Chengdu Military Command, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China.
authors.forename: Tingsong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Lanzhou General Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Guangxi Veterinary Research Institute, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China wu-jm20@163.com changchun_tu@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Jianmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Jilin Province for Zoonosis Prevention and Control, Military Veterinary Institute, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun, Jilin Province, China wu-jm20@163.com changchun_tu@hotmail.com.|Fujian A&F University, College of Animal Science, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China.|Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Changchun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tu
mesh_terms: D001003:Anal Canal / Q000821:virology; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000821:virology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000821:virology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016679:Genome, Viral; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D016865:Reassortant Viruses; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D015047:Zoonoses
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: bat; cross-species transmission; group A rotavirus; reassortment