Molecular Characterization of HN1304M, a Cat Que Virus Isolated from Midges in China
Ziqian Xu,
Lei Cao,
Liang Cai,
Shihong Fu,
Kai Nie,
Qikai Yin,
Yuxi Cao,
Guoping Liu,
Yunzhi Liu,
Hong Zhang,
Lidong Gao,
Ying He,
Huanyu Wang,
Guodong Liang
Affiliations
Ziqian Xu
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Lei Cao
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Liang Cai
Hunan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changsha 410005, China
Shihong Fu
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Kai Nie
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Qikai Yin
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Yuxi Cao
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Guoping Liu
Department of Pest Control, Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang 110034, China
Yunzhi Liu
Foshan Blood Center, Foshan 528000, China
Hong Zhang
Hunan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changsha 410005, China
Lidong Gao
Hunan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changsha 410005, China
Ying He
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Huanyu Wang
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Guodong Liang
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
The Cat Que orthobunyavirus has been found in mosquitoes, birds, pigs, and humans, suggesting its wide range of hosts and potential public health implications. During arbovirus surveillance in 2013, the HN1304M virus was isolated from naturally occurring Culicoides biting midges in Hunan Province, southern China. The virus was cytopathic to BHK-21 cells and showed stable passage, but was not cytopathic to C6/36 cells. Determination and analysis of the viral genome sequence revealed that HN1304M is an RNA virus with three gene segments, namely, L, M, and S. The nucleotide and amino acid sequence homologies of HN1304M to Cat Que viruses in the Manzanilla species complex were 90.3–99.4%, and 95–100%, respectively, while the homologies to other viruses in this species complex were 74–86.6% and 78.1–96.1%, respectively. A phylogenetic analysis of the viral genes revealed that HN1304M formed an evolutionary branch with other Cat Que viruses isolated from mosquitoes, pigs, birds, and humans, which was completely independent of the other viruses in this complex. The fact that the Cat Que virus was isolated from Culicoides suggests that biting midges may participate in the natural circulation of Cat Que viruses.
