Identification of Mudanjiang Phlebovirus in the Daxing’anling Region of China
Chenli Fang,
Yantao Liu,
Fang Tang,
Liming Liu,
Peijun Guo,
Yunfa Zhang,
Jingtao Zhang,
Xiaofang Ma,
Zhenyu Hu,
Shuang Li,
Gang Wang,
Shiwei Cheng,
Xingxiao Zhang,
Jianlong Zhang,
Xiaoai Zhang,
Wei Liu
Affiliations
Chenli Fang
College of Life Science, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
Yantao Liu
Qingdao Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao 266033, China
Fang Tang
Institute of Medical Prevention and Control of Public Health Emergencies, Characteristic Medical Center of the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force, Beijing 102613, China
Liming Liu
College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural Science and Technology University, Jilin 132101, China
Peijun Guo
Yantai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Yantai 264003, China
Yunfa Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
Jingtao Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
Xiaofang Ma
Qingdao Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao 266033, China
Zhenyu Hu
School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
Shuang Li
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
Gang Wang
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
Shiwei Cheng
College of Life Science, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
Xingxiao Zhang
College of Life Science, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
Jianlong Zhang
College of Life Science, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
Xiaoai Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
Wei Liu
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
Mudanjiang phlebovirus (MJPV) is a newly discovered phlebovirus, initially detected from Ixodes persulcatus ticks in China in 2022. In this study, by next-generation sequencing (NGS) on a wide variety of ticks and wild small animals in China, we detected MJPV from I. persulcatus and Meriones meridianus. Additionally, we conducted RT-PCR and sequencing on 1815 adult ticks and 805 wild small mammals collected from eight provinces in China between 2017 and 2021. MJPV RNA-positive results were found in 0.22% (4/1815) of tick samples, as well as in 0.12% (1/805) of rodent samples. All positive detections were obtained from Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia. Sequencing analysis revealed nucleotide similarities ranging from 98.23% to 99.11%, as well as amino acid similarities ranging from 99.12% to100%, between the current MJPV strain and previously reported strains of MJPV. Phylogenetic tree analysis demonstrated that the previously reported MJPV strain along with our two variants clustered together with other tick-borne phenuiviruses, indicating their close relationship within this viral group. This study represents the first detection of MJPV infection in wild rodents, expanding the known host range for this virus in the endemic regions.
