Is sequence evolution of Puumala virus NSs protein related to bank vole population dynamics?
The aim of this study was to identify the influence of bank vole population dynamics on Puumala virus (PUUV) prevalence and molecular sequence-evolution regarding the PUUV S-segment. PUUV is transmitted by the bank vole (Myodes glareolus) and is the main causative agent of human hantavirus infections in Germany. Rodent-borne hantaviruses have a tri-segmented genome. The S-segment contains two ma-jor overlapping open reading frames (ORF) coding for the nucleocapsid (N) protein and a non-structural (NSs) protein. Blood and lung tissue samples of bank voles trapped during 2010-2014 in Baden-Wuerttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia were analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and serology. Parts of the S-segment, including the N/NSs overlapping coding region and the N coding region alone, were sequenced for all PUUV positive voles. Of 851 voles, 28.4% were positive for PUUV-specific antibodies, whereas in 22.8% PUUV-specific RNA was detected. In the hantavirus outbreak years 2010 and 2012 PUUV prevalence at our trapping sites was higher compared to 2011, 2013 and 2014. From spring to autumn, decrease in the prevalence of PUUV infections of bank voles was observed. Amino acid and nucleotide sequence types of the NSs-ORF showed temporal and/or local distribution variation, whereas the N-ORF was highly con-served. In both federal states, one sequence type each persisted over the whole observation period. The NSs protein was highly divergent among trapping sites in the outbreak year 2012.
Dateien
Zitieren
Zugriffsstatistik
Rechte
Nutzung und Vervielfältigung:
Alle Rechte vorbehalten