Kanyawara Virus: A Novel Rhabdovirus Infecting Newly Discovered Nycteribiid Bat Flies Infesting Previously Unknown Pteropodid Bats in Uganda
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Date
2017
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Scientific Reports
Abstract
Bats are natural reservoir hosts of highly virulent pathogens such as Marburg virus, Nipah virus, and
SARS coronavirus. However, little is known about the role of bat ectoparasites in transmitting and
maintaining such viruses. The intricate relationship between bats and their ectoparasites suggests
that ectoparasites might serve as viral vectors, but evidence to date is scant. Bat flies, in particular, are
highly specialized obligate hematophagous ectoparasites that incidentally bite humans. Using nextgeneration
sequencing, we discovered a novel ledantevirus (mononegaviral family Rhabdoviridae,
genus Ledantevirus) in nycteribiid bat flies infesting pteropodid bats in western Uganda. Mitochondrial
DNA analyses revealed that both the bat flies and their bat hosts belong to putative new species. The
coding-complete genome of the new virus, named Kanyawara virus (KYAV), is only distantly related
to that of its closest known relative, Mount Elgon bat virus, and was found at high titers in bat flies but
not in blood or on mucosal surfaces of host bats. Viral genome analysis indicates unusually low CpG
dinucleotide depletion in KYAV compared to other ledanteviruses and rhabdovirus groups, with KYAV
displaying values similar to rhabdoviruses of arthropods. Our findings highlight the possibility of a yetto-
be-discovered diversity of potentially pathogenic viruses in bat ectoparasites.
Description
Keywords
Kanyawara Virus, Novel Rhabdovirus, Nycteribiid Bat Flies
Citation
Goldberg, T. L., Bennett, A. J., Kityo, R., Kuhn, J. H., & Chapman, C. A. (2017). Kanyawara virus: a novel rhabdovirus infecting newly discovered nycteribiid bat flies infesting previously unknown pteropodid bats in Uganda. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1-8. DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-05236-w