Genetic, Morphological and Antigenic Relationships between Mesonivirus Isolates from Australian Mosquitoes and Evidence for Their Horizontal Transmission
Natalee D. Newton,
Agathe M. G. Colmant,
Caitlin A. O’Brien,
Emma Ledger,
Devina Paramitha,
Helle Bielefeldt-Ohmann,
Daniel Watterson,
Breeanna J. McLean,
Sonja Hall-Mendelin,
David Warrilow,
Andrew F. van den Hurk,
Wenjun Liu,
Christina Hoare,
Joanne R. Kizu,
Penelope J. Gauci,
John Haniotis,
Stephen L. Doggett,
Babak Shaban,
Cheryl A. Johansen,
Roy A. Hall,
Jody Hobson-Peters
Affiliations
Natalee D. Newton
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
Agathe M. G. Colmant
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
Caitlin A. O’Brien
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
Emma Ledger
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
Devina Paramitha
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
Helle Bielefeldt-Ohmann
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
Daniel Watterson
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
Breeanna J. McLean
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
Sonja Hall-Mendelin
Public Health Virology, Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services, Brisbane, Queensland 4108, Australia
David Warrilow
Public Health Virology, Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services, Brisbane, Queensland 4108, Australia
Andrew F. van den Hurk
Public Health Virology, Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services, Brisbane, Queensland 4108, Australia
Wenjun Liu
Australian Defence Force Malaria and Infectious Disease Institute, Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, Queensland 4051, Australia
Christina Hoare
Australian Defence Force Malaria and Infectious Disease Institute, Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, Queensland 4051, Australia
Joanne R. Kizu
Australian Defence Force Malaria and Infectious Disease Institute, Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, Queensland 4051, Australia
Penelope J. Gauci
Defence Science & Technology Group, Fisherman’s Bend, Victoria 3207, Australia
John Haniotis
NSW Health Pathology-ICPMR Westmead, Medical Entomology, Westmead Hospital, Westmead 2145, Australia
Stephen L. Doggett
NSW Health Pathology-ICPMR Westmead, Medical Entomology, Westmead Hospital, Westmead 2145, Australia
Babak Shaban
Australian Genome Research Facility Ltd., Parkville 3050, Australia
Cheryl A. Johansen
School of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Nedlands 6009, Australia
Roy A. Hall
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
Jody Hobson-Peters
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
The Mesoniviridae are a newly assigned family of viruses in the order Nidovirales. Unlike other nidoviruses, which include the Coronaviridae, mesoniviruses are restricted to mosquito hosts and do not infect vertebrate cells. To date there is little information on the morphological and antigenic characteristics of this new group of viruses and a dearth of mesonivirus-specific research tools. In this study we determined the genetic relationships of recent Australian isolates of Alphamesonivirus 4 (Casuarina virus—CASV) and Alphamesonivirus 1 (Nam Dinh virus—NDiV), obtained from multiple mosquito species. Australian isolates of NDiV showed high-level similarity to the prototype NDiV isolate from Vietnam (99% nucleotide (nt) and amino acid (aa) identity). Isolates of CASV from Central Queensland were genetically very similar to the prototype virus from Darwin (95–96% nt and 91–92% aa identity). Electron microscopy studies demonstrated that virion diameter (≈80 nm) and spike length (≈10 nm) were similar for both viruses. Monoclonal antibodies specific to CASV and NDiV revealed a close antigenic relationship between the two viruses with 13/34 mAbs recognising both viruses. We also detected NDiV RNA on honey-soaked nucleic acid preservation cards fed on by wild mosquitoes supporting a possible mechanism of horizontal transmission between insects in nature.
