Characterisation of divergent flavivirus NS3 and NS5 protein sequences detected in Rhipicephalus microplus ticks from Brazil

• Published in: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Vol. 109; no. 1; pp. 38 - 50
• Main Authors: Maruyama, Sandra Regina, Castro-Jorge, Luiza Antunes, Chaves Ribeiro, José Marcos, Gardinassi, Luiz Gustavo, Garcia, Gustavo Rocha, Giampietro Brandão, Lucinda, Rezende Rodrigues, Aline, Ituo Okada, Marcos, Pereira Abrão, Emiliana, Ferreira, Beatriz Rossetti, de Fonseca, Benedito Antonio Lopes, de Miranda-Santos, Isabel Kinney Ferreira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazil Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz 01-02-2014; Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde; Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ)
• Subjects: Animals; Brazil; Cattle; Conserved Sequence - genetics; flavivirus; Flavivirus - chemistry; Flavivirus - classification; Flavivirus - isolation & purification; Gene Library; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; NS3; NS5; PARASITOLOGY; Phylogeny; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Rhipicephalus - virology; Rhipicephalus microplus; RNA Helicases - chemistry; RNA, Viral - isolation & purification; Sequence Alignment - statistics & numerical data; Sequence Analysis, Protein - methods; Serine Endopeptidases - chemistry; tick; Tissue Extracts - analysis; Transcriptome - genetics; TROPICAL MEDICINE; Viral Nonstructural Proteins - chemistry; Brazil; NS5; tick; Rhipicephalus microplus; NS3; flavivirus
• ISSN: 1678-8060; 0074-0276; 1678-8060; 0074-0276
• DOI: 10.1590/0074-0276130166

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.