Virome profiling of rodents in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China: Isolation and characterization of a new strain of Wenzhou virus

• Published in: Virology (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2019-03, Vol.529, p.122-134
• Main Authors: Tan, Zhizhou, Yu, Huiju, Xu, Lin, Zhao, Zihan, Zhang, Peisheng, Qu, Yonggang, He, Biao, Tu, Changchun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Pathogenic assessment; Rodents; Virome; Wenzhou mammarenavirus; Xinjiang
• ISSN: 0042-6822; 1096-0341
• DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2019.01.010

Rodents, as the most diverse and widest distributed mammals, are a natural reservoir of many zoonotic viruses. However, little is known about the viral diversity harbored by rodents in China. Here we performed viral metagenomic analyses of 314 wild rodents covering 7 species, sampled in North-western China. We also conducted a systematic virological characterization of a new Wenzhou virus (WENV) isolate, QARn1, from a brown rat (Rattus norvegicus). Full genomic and phylogenetic analyses showed that QARn1 is a previously unidentified strain of Wenzhou mammarenavirus and forms a new branch within the Asian clade. Experimental infection of Sprague-Dawley rats with QARn1 did not present overt pathology, but specific humoral immune responses developed and mild hemorrhage and immunocyte infiltration of the lungs and thymus were observed. These observations have expanded the geographic distribution of WENV to Central Asia, and further confirm that brown rats are natural hosts of Wenzhou virus. •Viral metagenomic analysis was performed on rodents collected in Xinjiang, China.•A new strain of Wenzhou virus, QARn1, was identified in a wild brown rat.•The geographic distribution of Wenzhou virus has been expanded to Central Asia region.•Experimentally infection of QARn1 showed brown rats are natural host of this virus.