Retrieval of the Complete Coding Sequence of the UK-Endemic Tatenale Orthohantavirus Reveals Extensive Strain Variation and Supports Its Classification as a Novel Species

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 12; no. 4; p. 454
• Main Authors: Chappell, Joseph G, Tsoleridis, Theocharis, Onianwa, Okechukwu, Drake, Gabby, Ashpole, Ian, Dobbs, Phillipa, Edema, William, Kumi-Ansah, Frederick, Bennett, Malcolm, Tarlinton, Rachael E, Ball, Jonathan K, McClure, C Patrick
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 17-04-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Classification; Communication; field vole; Genetic aspects; Genetic Variation; Geographical distribution; hantavirus; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; high-throughput sequencing; Infections; Methods; Microtus agrestis; Next-generation sequencing; Open Reading Frames; Orthohantavirus; Orthohantavirus - classification; Orthohantavirus - genetics; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Polymerase chain reaction; RNA polymerase; RNA sequencing; RNA viruses; RNA, Viral; Rodents; Sequence Analysis, RNA; Species; United Kingdom; virus discovery; Viruses; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; Scotland; Orthohantavirus; virus discovery; United Kingdom; field vole; hantavirus; high-throughput sequencing
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v12040454

Orthohantaviruses are globally distributed viruses, associated with rodents and other small mammals. However, data on the circulation of orthohantaviruses within the UK, particularly the UK-endemic Tatenale virus, is sparse. In this study, 531 animals from five rodent species were collected from two locations in northern and central England and screened using a degenerate, pan- orthohantavirus RT-PCR assay. Tatenale virus was detected in a single field vole (
) from central England and twelve field voles from northern England. Unbiased high-throughput sequencing of the central English strain resulted in the recovery of the complete coding sequence of a novel strain of Tatenale virus, whilst PCR-primer walking of the northern English strain recovered almost complete coding sequence of a previously identified strain. These findings represented the detection of a third lineage of Tatenale virus in the United Kingdom and extended the known geographic distribution of these viruses from northern to central England. Furthermore, the recovery of the complete coding sequence revealed that Tatenale virus was sufficiently related to the recently identified Traemersee virus, to meet the accepted criteria for classification as a single species of orthohantavirus.