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Sophie Von Merten - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Shrew twittering call rate is high in novel environments a lab study
Mammal Research, 2020Co-Authors: Sophie Von Merten, Björn Martin SiemersAbstract:Shrews use several different call types for communication. In previous studies, two call types have been additionally associated with a possible function for echolocation: ultrasonic click-like emissions and sonic twittering calls. There is anecdotal evidence that the rate of Shrew twittering calls is high in unfamiliar environments and lower in familiar ones. Here we quantitatively tested this assumption for the first time. In a simple laboratory experiment, we confronted three different Shrew species with environments of different degrees of novelty. We could show that the twittering call rate indeed decreased with increasing familiarity with the environment. In a separate experiment, we tested if Shrews would increase twittering call rate after a stressful event, which they did not. The finding of an increased call rate inside a novel environment that is not caused by stress is in line with the hypothesis of a very basic echolocation-like system in Shrews, as also bats increase their echolocation call rate in novel environments. However, it is not in full agreement with the hypothesis that twittering in Shrews mainly has a function for communication, as in territorial signalling, call rates are usually higher in familiar than in unfamiliar environments. Call rates did not change after a small structural alteration inside the familiar environment, suggesting that Shrews use their twittering calls not for a fine-tuned echolocation like bats, but rather a coarse acoustic orientation in their surroundings (‘echo-orientation’). Certainly, echo-orientation and communication might be two parallel, non-mutually exclusive functions of Shrew twittering.
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acoustic species identification of Shrews twittering calls for monitoring
Ecological Informatics, 2015Co-Authors: Björn Martin Siemers, Sandor Zsebők, David Czaban, Janos Farkas, Sophie Von MertenAbstract:The acoustic signals of Shrews (Soricidae) are largely understudied. As Shrews are very vocal animals it may be feasible to use acoustic methods in field studies to assess ecological and behavioral data. In this study, we present the first detailed analysis of the twittering calls of six Central European Shrew species (Sorex minutus, Sorex araneus, Neomys fodiens, Neomys anomalus, Crocidura russula and Crocidura leucodon). The analysis is based on over 6000 recorded calls from 121 individuals. Our results indicate that there is a large inter-individual variance and a large inter-specific overlap in the acoustic parameters of the calls. Each species uses a large spectral variety of calls without clear species specific call types. A species identification using the Support Vector Machine method on six species shows 66.2% accuracy; however, a pairwise comparison indicates accuracy between 68.5 and 97.3%. We propose to use acoustic monitoring of Shrews in comparative studies to estimate the overall Shrew activity. Moreover we suggest using the acoustic identification method in areas with few Shrew species where the accuracy of the technique can be eligible.
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Why do Shrews twitter? Communication or simple echo-based orientation
Biology Letters, 2009Co-Authors: Björn Martin Siemers, Grit Schauermann, Hendrik Turni, Sophie Von MertenAbstract:Shrews are very vocal animals. We tested behaviourally whether the high-pitched laryngeal ‘twittering’ calls of as-yet unclear function serve for communication or echo-based orientation. We used a representative species from each of the two largest phylogenetic groups of Shrews. In both species, experimental manipulation of substrate density, but not of the likelihood of conspecific presence, affected the Shrews' call rate when exploring an unknown environment. This adaptation of call rate to the degree of habitat clutter parallels bat echolocation and suggests that Shrews may use the echoes and reverberations of their calls for identifying routes through their habitat or for probing habitat type. To assess the acoustic feasibility of Shrew echo orientation, we ensonified Shrew habitats in the field with an ‘artificial Shrew’ (small speaker mounted close to a sensitive microphone). The data showed that Shrew-like calls can indeed yield echo scenes useful for habitat assessment at close range, but beyond the range of the Shrews' vibrissae.
Satoru Arai - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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re evaluation of the phylogeny based on mitochondrial cytochrome b gene in the house Shrew suncus murinus s montanus species complex with special reference to yemen and myanmar populations
Journal of Wildlife and Biodiversity, 2017Co-Authors: Satoshi D Ohdachi, Satoru Arai, Gohta Kinoshita, Abdul Karim Nasher, Takahiro Yonezawa, Fuka KikuchiAbstract:The house Shrew (Suncus murinus-S. montanus species complex) is considered to have been unintentionally introduced by humans from their original range to other regions around the Indian Ocean and neighboring seas, but this has yet not fully been investigated. A phylogenetic tree and haplotype network were reconstructed based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene nucleotide sequences (1140 bp) of 179 individuals of house Shrews from 46 localities in southern East Asia, Southeast Asia, West Asia, and islands in the western Indian Ocean. There was small genetic variation among Shrews in Japan (Okinawa), southern China, Vietnam, and insular Southeast Asia. However, the Shrew populations in Myanmar and Sri Lanka showed of a variety of different haplotypes. In the region of the western Indian Ocean, three interesting findings were obtained. First, the Shrews on Zanzibar Island (Tanzania) shared same haplotype as those in southwestern Iran, and the haplotype was close to a group in Pakistan, despite these three regions being distantly located. Second, inferring from the haplotype network, it was suggests that the Shrews in Yemen might have derived from Madagascar/Comoros populations. Third, the Shrews on Reunion Island were genetically different from other populations around the western Indian Ocean but closer to Malaysia and Myanmar populations. Thus, the present study demonstrates that there have been dynamic immigration/emigration processes in the house Shrews, especially for those around the western Indian Ocean. In addition, the house Shrews in Myanmar may include several different species.
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genetic diversity of artybash virus in the laxmann s Shrew sorex caecutiens
Vector-borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 2016Co-Authors: Satoru Arai, Hae Ji Kang, Joseph A. Cook, Satoshi D Ohdachi, Liudmila N Yashina, Keiko Tanakataya, S A Abramov, Shigeru Morikawa, Nobuhiko Okabe, Kazunori OishiAbstract:Abstract Although based on very limited M and L segment sequences, Artybash virus (ARTV) was proposed previously as a unique hantavirus harbored by the Laxmann's Shrew (Sorex caecutiens). To verify this conjecture, lung tissues from 68 Laxmann's Shrews, captured during 2006 to 2014 in eastern Siberia, Russia, and Hokkaido, Japan, were analyzed for ARTV RNA using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). ARTV RNA was detected in six Laxmann's Shrews. Pairwise alignment and comparison of partial- and full-length S, M, and L segment sequences from these Laxmann's Shrews, as well as phylogenetic analyses, using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods indicated that ARTV was distinct from other soricine Shrew-borne hantaviruses and representative hantaviruses harbored by rodents, moles, and bats. Taxonomic identity of the ARTV-infected Laxmann's Shrews was confirmed by full-length cytochrome b mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis. Our data indicate that the hantavirus previously known as Amga vi...
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Novel serological tools for detection of Thottapalayam virus, a Soricomorpha-borne hantavirus
Archives of Virology, 2012Co-Authors: Mathias Schlegel, Erdenesaikhan Tegshduuren, Kumiko Yoshimatsu, Rasa Petraityte, Kestutis Sasnauskas, Bärbel Hammerschmidt, Robert Friedrich, Marc Mertens, Martin H. Groschup, Satoru AraiAbstract:We developed serological tools for the detection of hantavirus-specific antibodies and hantavirus antigens in Shrews. The work was focussed to generate Thottapalayam virus (TPMV)-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and anti-Shrew immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. The mAbs against TPMV nucleocapsid (N) protein were produced after immunization of BALB/c mice with recombinant TPMV N proteins expressed in Escherichia coli , baculovirus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae -mediated expression systems. In total, six TPMV N-protein-specific mAbs were generated that showed a characteristic fluorescent pattern in indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using TPMV-infected Vero cells. Out of the six mAbs tested, five showed no cross-reaction to rodent-associated hantaviruses (Hantaan, Seoul, Puumala, Tula, Dobrava-Belgrade and Sin Nombre viruses) in IFA and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), although one mAb reacted to Sin Nombre virus in IFA. None of the mAbs cross-reacted with an amino-terminal segment of the Shrew-borne Asama virus N protein. Anti-Shrew-IgG sera were prepared after immunization of rabbits and BALB/c-mice with protein-G-purified Shrew IgG. TPMV-N-protein-specific sera were raised by immunisation of Asian house Shrews ( Suncus murinus ) with purified yeast-expressed TPMV N protein. Using these tools, an indirect ELISA was developed to detect TPMV-N-protein-specific antibodies in the sera of Shrews. Using an established serological assay, high TPMV N protein specific antibody titres were measured in the sera of TPMV-N-protein-immunized and experimentally TPMV-infected Shrews, whereas no cross-reactivity to other hantavirus N proteins was found. Therefore, the generated mAbs and the established ELISA system represent useful serological tools to detect TPMV, TPMV-related virus antigens or hantavirus-specific antibodies in hantavirus-infected Shrews.
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Novel Hantavirus in the Flat-Skulled Shrew (Sorex roboratus)
Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 2010Co-Authors: Hae Ji Kang, Satoru Arai, Andrew G. Hope, Joseph A. Cook, Richard YanagiharaAbstract:Abstract Genetically distinct hantaviruses have been identified recently in multiple species of Shrews (Order Soricomorpha, Family Soricidae) in Eurasia and North America. To corroborate decades-old reports of hantaviral antigens in Shrews from Russia, archival liver and lung tissues from 4 Siberian large-toothed Shrews (Sorex daphaenodon), 5 Eurasian least Shrews (Sorex minutissimus), 12 flat-skulled Shrews (Sorex roboratus), and 18 tundra Shrews (Sorex tundrensis), captured in the Sakha Republic in northeastern Siberia during July and August 2006, were analyzed for hantavirus RNA by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. A novel hantavirus, named Kenkeme virus, was detected in a flat-skulled Shrew. Sequence analysis of the full-length S and partial M and L segments indicated that Kenkeme virus was genetically and phylogenetically distinct from Seewis virus harbored by the Eurasian common Shrew (Sorex araneus), as well as all other rodent-, soricid-, and talpid-borne hantaviruses.
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genetic diversity and phylogeography of seewis virus in the eurasian common Shrew in finland and hungary
Virology Journal, 2009Co-Authors: Hae Ji Kang, Satoru Arai, Andrew G. Hope, Joseph A. Cook, Jin-won Song, Richard YanagiharaAbstract:Recent identification of a newfound hantavirus, designated Seewis virus (SWSV), in the Eurasian common Shrew (Sorex araneus), captured in Switzerland, corroborates decades-old reports of hantaviral antigens in this Shrew species from Russia. To ascertain the spatial or geographic variation of SWSV, archival liver tissues from 88 Eurasian common Shrews, trapped in Finland in 1982 and in Hungary during 1997, 1999 and 2000, were analyzed for hantavirus RNAs by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. SWSV RNAs were detected in 12 of 22 (54.5%) and 13 of 66 (19.7%) Eurasian common Shrews from Finland and Hungary, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses of S- and L-segment sequences of SWSV strains, using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods, revealed geographic-specific genetic variation, similar to the phylogeography of rodent-borne hantaviruses, suggesting long-standing hantavirus-host co-evolutionary adaptation.
Björn Martin Siemers - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Shrew twittering call rate is high in novel environments a lab study
Mammal Research, 2020Co-Authors: Sophie Von Merten, Björn Martin SiemersAbstract:Shrews use several different call types for communication. In previous studies, two call types have been additionally associated with a possible function for echolocation: ultrasonic click-like emissions and sonic twittering calls. There is anecdotal evidence that the rate of Shrew twittering calls is high in unfamiliar environments and lower in familiar ones. Here we quantitatively tested this assumption for the first time. In a simple laboratory experiment, we confronted three different Shrew species with environments of different degrees of novelty. We could show that the twittering call rate indeed decreased with increasing familiarity with the environment. In a separate experiment, we tested if Shrews would increase twittering call rate after a stressful event, which they did not. The finding of an increased call rate inside a novel environment that is not caused by stress is in line with the hypothesis of a very basic echolocation-like system in Shrews, as also bats increase their echolocation call rate in novel environments. However, it is not in full agreement with the hypothesis that twittering in Shrews mainly has a function for communication, as in territorial signalling, call rates are usually higher in familiar than in unfamiliar environments. Call rates did not change after a small structural alteration inside the familiar environment, suggesting that Shrews use their twittering calls not for a fine-tuned echolocation like bats, but rather a coarse acoustic orientation in their surroundings (‘echo-orientation’). Certainly, echo-orientation and communication might be two parallel, non-mutually exclusive functions of Shrew twittering.
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acoustic species identification of Shrews twittering calls for monitoring
Ecological Informatics, 2015Co-Authors: Björn Martin Siemers, Sandor Zsebők, David Czaban, Janos Farkas, Sophie Von MertenAbstract:The acoustic signals of Shrews (Soricidae) are largely understudied. As Shrews are very vocal animals it may be feasible to use acoustic methods in field studies to assess ecological and behavioral data. In this study, we present the first detailed analysis of the twittering calls of six Central European Shrew species (Sorex minutus, Sorex araneus, Neomys fodiens, Neomys anomalus, Crocidura russula and Crocidura leucodon). The analysis is based on over 6000 recorded calls from 121 individuals. Our results indicate that there is a large inter-individual variance and a large inter-specific overlap in the acoustic parameters of the calls. Each species uses a large spectral variety of calls without clear species specific call types. A species identification using the Support Vector Machine method on six species shows 66.2% accuracy; however, a pairwise comparison indicates accuracy between 68.5 and 97.3%. We propose to use acoustic monitoring of Shrews in comparative studies to estimate the overall Shrew activity. Moreover we suggest using the acoustic identification method in areas with few Shrew species where the accuracy of the technique can be eligible.
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Why do Shrews twitter? Communication or simple echo-based orientation
Biology Letters, 2009Co-Authors: Björn Martin Siemers, Grit Schauermann, Hendrik Turni, Sophie Von MertenAbstract:Shrews are very vocal animals. We tested behaviourally whether the high-pitched laryngeal ‘twittering’ calls of as-yet unclear function serve for communication or echo-based orientation. We used a representative species from each of the two largest phylogenetic groups of Shrews. In both species, experimental manipulation of substrate density, but not of the likelihood of conspecific presence, affected the Shrews' call rate when exploring an unknown environment. This adaptation of call rate to the degree of habitat clutter parallels bat echolocation and suggests that Shrews may use the echoes and reverberations of their calls for identifying routes through their habitat or for probing habitat type. To assess the acoustic feasibility of Shrew echo orientation, we ensonified Shrew habitats in the field with an ‘artificial Shrew’ (small speaker mounted close to a sensitive microphone). The data showed that Shrew-like calls can indeed yield echo scenes useful for habitat assessment at close range, but beyond the range of the Shrews' vibrissae.
Richard Yanagihara - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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DISPATCHES
2013Co-Authors: In Northern, Joseph A. Cook, Shannon N. Bennett, Cheryl A. Parmenter, Vivek R. Nerurkar, Terry L. Yates, Richard YanagiharaAbstract:Phylogenetic analyses, based on partial medium- and large-segment sequences, support an ancient evolutionary origin of a genetically distinct hantavirus detected by reverse transcription–PCR in tissues of northern short-tailed Shrews (Blarina brevicauda) captured in Minnesota in August 1998. To our knowledge, this is the fi rst evidence of hantaviruses harbored by Shrews in the Americas. Rodents and their ectoparasites serve as reservoirs and vectors of myriad viruses and other pathogenic microbes. In contrast, the role of insectivores (or soricomorphs) in the transmission and ecology of zoonoses is largely unknown. Because some soricomorphs share habitats with rodents, Shrews might also be involved in the maintenance of the enzootic cycle and contribute to the evolutionary history and genetic diversity of hantaviruses. Hantavirus antigens have been detected in the Eurasian common Shrew (Sorex araneus), alpine Shrew (Sorex alpinus), Eurasian water Shrew (Neomys fodiens), and common mole (Talpa europea) in Russia and the former Yugoslavia (1–3). More than 20 years ago, when Prospect Hill virus was discovered in meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) captured in Frederick, Maryland, USA, serologic evidence suggestive of hantavirus infection was found in the northern short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) (4). However, virus isolation attempts were unsuccessful, and molecular tools such as PCR were unavailable. Empowered by robust gene-amplification techniques and the complete genome of Thottapalayam virus (TPMV) isolated from the Asian house Shrew (Suncus murinus) (5,6), we have identified a genetically distinct hantavirus in the northern shorttailed Shrew
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Novel Hantavirus in the Flat-Skulled Shrew (Sorex roboratus)
Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 2010Co-Authors: Hae Ji Kang, Satoru Arai, Andrew G. Hope, Joseph A. Cook, Richard YanagiharaAbstract:Abstract Genetically distinct hantaviruses have been identified recently in multiple species of Shrews (Order Soricomorpha, Family Soricidae) in Eurasia and North America. To corroborate decades-old reports of hantaviral antigens in Shrews from Russia, archival liver and lung tissues from 4 Siberian large-toothed Shrews (Sorex daphaenodon), 5 Eurasian least Shrews (Sorex minutissimus), 12 flat-skulled Shrews (Sorex roboratus), and 18 tundra Shrews (Sorex tundrensis), captured in the Sakha Republic in northeastern Siberia during July and August 2006, were analyzed for hantavirus RNA by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. A novel hantavirus, named Kenkeme virus, was detected in a flat-skulled Shrew. Sequence analysis of the full-length S and partial M and L segments indicated that Kenkeme virus was genetically and phylogenetically distinct from Seewis virus harbored by the Eurasian common Shrew (Sorex araneus), as well as all other rodent-, soricid-, and talpid-borne hantaviruses.
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genetic diversity and phylogeography of seewis virus in the eurasian common Shrew in finland and hungary
Virology Journal, 2009Co-Authors: Hae Ji Kang, Satoru Arai, Andrew G. Hope, Joseph A. Cook, Jin-won Song, Richard YanagiharaAbstract:Recent identification of a newfound hantavirus, designated Seewis virus (SWSV), in the Eurasian common Shrew (Sorex araneus), captured in Switzerland, corroborates decades-old reports of hantaviral antigens in this Shrew species from Russia. To ascertain the spatial or geographic variation of SWSV, archival liver tissues from 88 Eurasian common Shrews, trapped in Finland in 1982 and in Hungary during 1997, 1999 and 2000, were analyzed for hantavirus RNAs by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. SWSV RNAs were detected in 12 of 22 (54.5%) and 13 of 66 (19.7%) Eurasian common Shrews from Finland and Hungary, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses of S- and L-segment sequences of SWSV strains, using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods, revealed geographic-specific genetic variation, similar to the phylogeography of rodent-borne hantaviruses, suggesting long-standing hantavirus-host co-evolutionary adaptation.
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molecular phylogeny of a newfound hantavirus in the japanese Shrew mole urotrichus talpoides
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2008Co-Authors: Satoru Arai, Hae Ji Kang, Satoshi D Ohdachi, Nobuhiko Okabe, Mitsuhiko Asakawa, Gabor Mocz, Jiro Arikawa, Richard YanagiharaAbstract:Recent molecular evidence of genetically distinct hantaviruses in Shrews, captured in widely separated geographical regions, corroborates decades-old reports of hantavirus antigens in Shrew tissues. Apart from challenging the conventional view that rodents are the principal reservoir hosts, the recently identified soricid-borne hantaviruses raise the possibility that other soricomorphs, notably talpids, similarly harbor hantaviruses. In analyzing RNA extracts from lung tissues of the Japanese Shrew mole (Urotrichus talpoides), captured in Japan between February and April 2008, a hantavirus genome, designated Asama virus (ASAV), was detected by RT-PCR. Pairwise alignment and comparison of the S-, M-, and L-segment nucleotide and amino acid sequences indicated that ASAV was genetically more similar to hantaviruses harbored by Shrews than by rodents. However, the predicted secondary structure of the ASAV nucleocapsid protein was similar to that of rodent- and Shrew-borne hantaviruses, exhibiting the same coiled-coil helix at the amino terminus. Phylogenetic analyses, using the maximum-likelihood method and other algorithms, consistently placed ASAV with recently identified soricine Shrew-borne hantaviruses, suggesting a possible host-switching event in the distant past. The discovery of a mole-borne hantavirus enlarges our concepts about the complex evolutionary history of hantaviruses.
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Phylogenetically distinct hantaviruses in the masked Shrew (Sorex cinereus) and dusky Shrew (Sorex monticolus) in the United States.
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2008Co-Authors: Satoru Arai, Andrew G. Hope, Joseph A. Cook, Jin-won Song, Shannon N. Bennett, Laarni Sumibcay, Cheryl A. Parmenter, Vivek R. Nerurkar, Terry L. Yates, Richard YanagiharaAbstract:A limited search for hantaviruses in lung and liver tissues of Sorex Shrews (family Soricidae, subfamily Soricinae) revealed phylogenetically distinct hantaviruses in the masked Shrew (Sorex cinereus) from Minnesota and in the dusky Shrew (Sorex monticolus) from New Mexico and Colorado. The discovery of these Shrew-borne hantaviruses, named Ash River virus and Jemez Springs virus, respectively, challenges the long-held dogma that rodents are the sole reservoir hosts and forces a re-examination of their co-evolutionary history. Also, studies now underway are aimed at clarifying the epizootiology and pathogenicity of these new members of the genus Hantavirus.
Yongzhen Zhang - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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discovery of a highly divergent hepadnavirus in Shrews from china
Virology, 2019Co-Authors: Xiandan Lin, Jianguang Xing, Edward C Holmes, Fangyuan Nie, Junhua Tian, Jianhai Cao, Runlin Z, Yongzhen ZhangAbstract:Abstract Limited sampling means that relatively little is known about the diversity and evolutionary history of mammalian members of the Hepadnaviridae (genus Orthohepadnavirus). An important case in point are Shrews, the fourth largest group of mammals, but for which there is limited knowledge on the role they play in viral evolution and emergence. Here, we report the discovery of a novel Shrew hepadnavirus. The newly discovered virus, denoted Shrew hepatitis B virus (SHBV), is divergent to be considered a new species of Orthohepadnavirus. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these viruses were usually most closely related to TBHBV (tent-making bat hepatitis B virus), known to be able to infect human hepatocytes, and had a similar genome structure, although SHBV fell in a more basal position in the surface protein phylogeny. In sum, these data suggest that Shrews are natural hosts for hepadnaviruses and may have played an important role in their long-term evolution.
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discovery of a highly divergent coronavirus in the asian house Shrew from china illuminates the origin of the alphacoronaviruses
Journal of Virology, 2017Co-Authors: Wen Wang, Xiandan Lin, Yong Liao, Xiaoqing Guan, Wenping Guo, Jianguang Xing, Edward C Holmes, Yongzhen ZhangAbstract:ABSTRACT Although Shrews are one of the largest groups of mammals, little is known about their role in the evolution and transmission of viral pathogens, including coronaviruses (CoVs). We captured 266 Asian house Shrews (Suncus murinus) in Jiangxi and Zhejiang Provinces, China, during 2013 to 2015. CoV RNA was detected in 24 Asian house Shrews, with an overall prevalence of 9.02%. Complete viral genome sequences were successfully recovered from the RNA-positive samples. The newly discovered Shrew CoV fell into four lineages reflecting their geographic origins, indicative of largely allopatric evolution. Notably, these viruses were most closely related to alphacoronaviruses but sufficiently divergent that they should be considered a novel member of the genus Alphacoronavirus, which we denote Wencheng Shrew virus (WESV). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that WESV was a highly divergent member of the alphacoronaviruses and, more dramatically, that the S gene of WESV fell in a cluster that was genetically distinct from that of known coronaviruses. The divergent position of WESV suggests that coronaviruses have a long association with Asian house Shrews. In addition, the genome of WESV contains a distinct NS7 gene that exhibits no sequence similarity to genes of any known viruses. Together, these data suggest that Shrews are natural reservoirs for coronaviruses and may have played an important and long-term role in CoV evolution. IMPORTANCE The subfamily Coronavirinae contains several notorious human and animal pathogens, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. Because of their genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships, it has been proposed that the alphacoronaviruses likely have their ultimate ancestry in the viruses residing in bats. Here, we describe a novel alphacoronavirus (Wencheng Shrew virus [WESV]) that was sampled from Asian house Shrews in China. Notably, WESV is a highly divergent member of the alphacoronaviruses and possesses an S gene that is genetically distinct from those of all known coronaviruses. In addition, the genome of WESV contains a distinct NS7 gene that exhibits no sequence similarity to those of any known viruses. Together, these data suggest that Shrews are important and longstanding hosts for coronaviruses that merit additional research and surveillance.
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biodiversity and evolution of imjin virus and thottapalayam virus in crocidurinae Shrews in zhejiang province china
Virus Research, 2014Co-Authors: Xiandan Lin, Wen Wang, Edward C Holmes, Runhong Zhou, Feineng Fan, Xuhua Ying, Xiaoyu Sun, Yongzhen ZhangAbstract:The recent discovery of numerous hantaviruses in insectivores has provided a new view of hantavirus biodiversity and evolution. To determine the presence and genetic diversity of Imjin virus (MJNV) and Thottapalayam virus (TPMV) in insectivores in Zhejiang Province, China, we captured and performed virus screening of 32 Ussuri white-toothed Shrews (Crocidura lasiura) and 105 Asian house Shrews (Suncus murinus) in different coastal regions. Hantavirus genome (S, M, and L segments) sequences were successfully recovered from one Ussuri white-toothed Shrew and seven Asian house Shrews. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the virus carried by the Ussuri white-toothed Shrew was most closely related to MJNV, but with >15% nucleotide sequence difference, suggesting that it represents a new subtype. The hantaviruses carried by Asian house Shrews were closely related to the TPMV variants found in the same geographic area, but more distantly related to those sampled in India and Nepal. Additionally, the TPMV sequences obtained in this study, as well as those found previously in this area, could be divided into three lineages reflecting their geographic origins, indicative of largely allopatric evolution. Overall, our data highlights the high genetic diversity of insectivore-borne hantaviruses in China, suggesting that more may be discovered in the future.
