ABSTRACT
Allpahuayo virus was initially isolated from arboreal rice rats (Oecomys bicolor and Oecomys paricola) collected during 1997 at the Allpahuayo Biological Station in northeastern Peru. Serological and genetic studies identified the virus as a new member of the Tacaribe complex of the genus Arenavirus. The small (S) segment of the Allpahuayo virus prototype strain CLHP-2098 (Accession No. AY012686) was sequenced, as well as that of sympatric isolate CLHP-2472 (Accession No. AY012687), from the same rodent species. The S segment was 3382 bases in length and phylogenetic analysis indicated that Allpahuayo is a sister virus to Pichinde in clade A. Two ambisense, nonoverlapping reading frames were identified, which result in two predicted gene products, a glycoprotein precursor (GPC) and a nucleocapsid protein (NP). A predicted stable single hairpin secondary structure was identified in the intergenic region between GPC and NP. Details of the genetic organization of Allpahuayo virus are discussed.
Subject(s)
Arenavirus/isolation & purification , Sigmodontinae/virology , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Arenavirus/genetics , Arenavirus/immunology , Base Sequence , Complement Fixation Tests , DNA, Intergenic , Genome, Viral , Glycoproteins/genetics , Molecular Sequence Data , Nucleocapsid/genetics , Peru , Phylogeny , Serotyping , Viral Envelope Proteins/geneticsABSTRACT
This report describes Trocara virus, a newly recognized member of the genus Alphavirus, that has been isolated from Aedes serratus mosquitoes collected at two widely separated sites in the Amazon Basin. Biological, antigenic and genetic characteristics of the new virus are given. Results of these studies indicate that Trocara virus is the first member of a newly discovered antigenic complex within the family Togaviridae genus Alphavirus. The public health and veterinary importance of Trocara virus is still unknown.
Subject(s)
Aedes/virology , Alphavirus/genetics , Alphavirus/isolation & purification , Alphavirus/ultrastructure , Animals , Brazil , Complement Fixation Tests , Cricetinae , DNA Primers , Hemagglutination Tests , Mice , Microscopy, Electron , Peru , Polymerase Chain Reaction , RNA, Viral/isolation & purification , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain ReactionABSTRACT
This paper describes the isolation and partial genetic characterization of a hantavirus from a pygmy rice rat, Oligoryzomys microtis, collected within the urban area of Iquitos, Loreto Department, Peru. The virus, designated HTN-007, exhibited the highest degree of genetic similarity to Rio Mamore virus, which was originally described from the same rodent species in eastern Bolivia. Comparison of small and medium segment nucleotide sequence data from HTN-007 and Rio Mamore virus revealed 87% and 85% sequence identity, respectively. Based on these analyses, HTN-007 appears to be a variant of Rio Mamore virus. As such, it represents the first successful isolation of Rio Mamore virus and the first evidence for the existence of a hantavirus in Peru. Serologic studies done by immunofluorescence on blood samples of 56 O. microtis trapped at the collection site indicated that 21.4% had antibodies to hantavirus. In view of the proximity of this rodent species to humans and the close phylogenetic relationship of Rio Mamore virus to hantaviruses that have been associated with human disease, Rio Mamore virus may be a hantavirus of some public health importance in tropical South America.