In recent years, negative-sense RNA virus classification and taxon nomenclature have undergone considerable transformation. In 2016, the new order Bunyavirales was established, elevating the previous genus Hantavirus to family rank, thereby creating Hantaviridae. Here we summarize affirmed taxonomic modifications of this family from 2016 to 2019. Changes involve the admission of >30 new hantavirid species and the establishment of subfamilies and novel genera based on DivErsity pArtitioning by hieRarchical Clustering (DEmARC) analysis of genomic sequencing data. We outline an objective framework that can be used in future classification schemes when more hantavirids sequences will be available. Finally, we summarize current taxonomic proposals and problems in hantavirid taxonomy that will have to be addressed shortly.

https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/11/9/788/pdf

Hantaviridae: Current Classification and Future Perspectives

Host switch during evolution of a genetically distinct hantavirus in the American shrew mole

The recent discovery that multiple species of shrews and moles (order Eulipotyphla, families Soricidae and Talpidae) from Europe, Asia, Africa and/or North America harbour genetically distinct viruses belonging to the family Hantaviridae (order Bunyavirales) has prompted a further exploration of their host diversification. In analysing thousands of frozen, RNAlater-preserved and ethanol-fixed tissues from bats (order Chiroptera) by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), ten hantaviruses have been detected to date in bat species belonging to the suborder Yinpterochiroptera (families Hipposideridae, Pteropodidae and Rhinolophidae) and the suborder Yangochiroptera (families Emballonuriade, Nycteridae and Vespertilionidae). Of these, six hantaviruses are from Asia (Xuân Son virus and Dakrong virus in Vietnam; Laibin virus in China and Myanmar; Huangpi virus and Longquan virus in China; and Quezon virus in the Philippines); three are from Africa (Mouyassue virus in Cote d'Ivoire and Ethiopia; Magboi virus in Sierra Leone; and Makokou virus in Gabon); and one from Europe (Brno virus in the Czech Republic). Molecular identification of many more bat-borne hantaviruses is expected. However, thus far, none of these newfound viruses has been isolated in cell culture and it is unclear if they cause infection or disease in humans. Future research must focus on myriad unanswered questions about the genetic diversity and geographic distribution, as well as the pathogenic potential, of bat-borne viruses of the family Hantaviridae.

/pdf/genetic-diversity-and-geographic-distribution-of-bat-borne-52bomhdo5s.pdf

Genetic Diversity and Geographic Distribution of Bat-borne Hantaviruses.

https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/11/10/884/pdf

Viruses and Bats.

The discovery of highly divergent lineages of hantaviruses (family Hantaviridae) in shrews, moles, and bats of multiple species raises the possibility that non-rodent hosts may have played a significant role in their evolutionary history. To further investigate this prospect, total RNA was extracted from RNAlater®-preserved lung tissues of 277 bats (representing five families, 14 genera and 40 species), captured in Myanmar and Vietnam during 2013–2016. Hantavirus RNA was detected in two of 15 black-bearded tomb bats (Taphozous melanopogon) and two of 26 Pomona roundleaf bats (Hipposideros pomona) in Myanmar, and in three of six ashy leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideros cineraceus) in Vietnam. Pair-wise alignment and comparison of coding regions of the S, M, and L segments of hantaviruses from Taphozous and Hipposideros bats revealed high nucleotide and amino acid sequence similarities to prototype Laibīn virus (LAIV) and Xuân Sơn virus (XSV), respectively. Phylogenetic analyses, generated by maximum-likelihood and Bayesian methods, showed a geographic clustering of LAIV strains from China and Myanmar, but not of XSV strains from China and Vietnam. These findings confirm that the black-bearded tomb bat is the natural reservoir of LAIV, and that more than one species of Hipposideros bats can host XSV.

https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/11/3/228/pdf

Molecular Phylogeny of Mobatviruses (Hantaviridae) in Myanmar and Vietnam

The recent discovery of genetically distinct shrew- and mole-borne viruses belonging to the newly defined family Hantaviridae (order Bunyavirales) has spurred an extended search for hantaviruses in RNAlater®-preserved lung tissues from 215 bats (order Chiroptera) representing five families (Hipposideridae, Megadermatidae, Pteropodidae, Rhinolophidae and Vespertilionidae), collected in Vietnam during 2012 to 2014. A newly identified hantavirus, designated Đakrong virus (DKGV), was detected in one of two Stoliczka’s Asian trident bats (Aselliscus stoliczkanus), from Đakrong Nature Reserve in Quảng Trị Province. Using maximum-likelihood and Bayesian methods, phylogenetic trees based on the full-length S, M and L segments showed that DKGV occupied a basal position with other mobatviruses, suggesting that primordial hantaviruses may have been hosted by ancestral bats.

/pdf/dakrong-virus-a-novel-mobatvirus-hantaviridae-harbored-by-56nfgb1ok2.pdf

Đakrông virus, a novel mobatvirus (Hantaviridae) harbored by the Stoliczka's Asian trident bat (Aselliscus stoliczkanus) in Vietnam.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

/pdf/author-correction-dakrong-virus-a-novel-mobatvirus-127846usa8.pdf

Vương Tân Tú

Papers

Molecular Phylogeny of Mobatviruses (Hantaviridae) in Myanmar and Vietnam

Đakrông virus, a novel mobatvirus (Hantaviridae) harbored by the Stoliczka's Asian trident bat (Aselliscus stoliczkanus) in Vietnam.

Author Correction: Đakrông virus, a novel mobatvirus (Hantaviridae) harbored by the Stoliczka's Asian trident bat (Aselliscus stoliczkanus) in Vietnam