Novel astrovirus and paramyxovirus in Mongolian gerbils (<i>Meriones unguiculatus</i>) from China

Shou-Min Nie; Juan Li; Yi-Ting Wang; Cui-Hong An; Hong Zhou; Lin Xu; Yang-Xin Sun; Wen-Hui Chang; Ci-Xiu Li; Wei-Feng Shi

doi:10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2021.445

Volume 43 Issue 3

May 2022

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Article Navigation > Zoological Research > 2022 > 43(3): 418-422

Shou-Min Nie, Juan Li, Yi-Ting Wang, Cui-Hong An, Hong Zhou, Lin Xu, Yang-Xin Sun, Wen-Hui Chang, Ci-Xiu Li, Wei-Feng Shi. Novel astrovirus and paramyxovirus in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) from China. Zoological Research, 2022, 43(3): 418-422. doi: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2021.445

Citation:

Shou-Min Nie, Juan Li, Yi-Ting Wang, Cui-Hong An, Hong Zhou, Lin Xu, Yang-Xin Sun, Wen-Hui Chang, Ci-Xiu Li, Wei-Feng Shi. Novel astrovirus and paramyxovirus in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) from China. Zoological Research, 2022, 43(3): 418-422. doi: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2021.445

Citation:

Shou-Min Nie, Juan Li, Yi-Ting Wang, Cui-Hong An, Hong Zhou, Lin Xu, Yang-Xin Sun, Wen-Hui Chang, Ci-Xiu Li, Wei-Feng Shi. Novel astrovirus and paramyxovirus in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) from China. Zoological Research, 2022, 43(3): 418-422. doi: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2021.445

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Novel astrovirus and paramyxovirus in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) from China

doi: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2021.445

Shou-Min Nie^{1, #},
Juan Li^{2, 3, 4, #},
Yi-Ting Wang⁴,
Cui-Hong An¹,
Hong Zhou^{2, 3, 4},
Lin Xu^{2, 3, 5},
Yang-Xin Sun¹,
Wen-Hui Chang¹,
Ci-Xiu Li^{2, 3, 4
,
,},
Wei-Feng Shi^{2, 3, 4, 5
,
,}

1.
Shaanxi Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710054, China
2.
Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong 250021, China
3.
Key Laboratory of Etiology and Epidemiology of Emerging Infectious Diseases in Universities of Shandong, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Taian, Shandong 271000, China
4.
Department of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Taian, Shandong 271000, China
5.
School of Public Health, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Taian, Shandong 271000, China

#Authors contributed equally to this work

Funds: This study was supported by the Academic Promotion Programme of Shandong First Medical University (2019QL006), and the Open Research Fund Program of CAS Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology (2021SPCAS002)

More Information

Corresponding author: E-mail: licixiu@sdfmu.edu.cn; shiwf@ioz.ac.cn
Received Date: 2022-02-07
Accepted Date: 2022-04-11

Published Online: 2022-04-15

Publish Date: 2022-05-18

Abstract

Abstract

Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) are small rodents belonging to the family Muridae and widely inhabit typical steppes and desert grasslands across northern China. Yet, few viruses in wild M. unguiculatus have been reported. Using meta-transcriptomic sequencing we identified two novel RNA viruses: an astrovirus, denoted Gerbil astrovirus (GeAstV), and a paramyxovirus – Gerbil paramyxovirus (GePV) in Mongolian gerbils captured during October–November 2018 from one of the plagus zones in Shaanxi Province, China. Phylogenetic analysis based on the amino acid sequences of ORF1a, RdRp and ORF2 revealed that GeAstV clustered with rodent- and porcine-associated astroviruses, sharing the highest amino acid identity of 75.07% with a pig astrovirus in RdRp, while sharing 42.14% and 35.94% amino acid identity with a rodent astrovirus in the deduced ORF1a and ORF2 proteins, respectively, exhibiting apparent recombination and potential cross-species transmission events. For the newly discovered GePV, evolutionary analysis demonstrated that it was closely related to Tailam virus and Beilong virus, and shared 61%–77% identity in the L protein with the seven members of the genus Jeilongvirus. Notably, GeAstV was detected only in lung samples while GePV was positive only in kidney samples. In sum, we demonstrate the presence of two novel gerbil RNA viruses, expanding our understanding of viral diversity in wild Mongolian gerbils.

#Authors contributed equally to this work

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References(11)

References

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