Isolation, characterization and prevalence of a novel Gammaherpesvirus in Eptesicus fuscus, the North American big brown bat

Highlights

• We report the first complete sequence of a novel bat gammaherpesvirus (EfHV) isolated from a big brown bat.

• EfHV is a gammaherpesvirus of the genus Rhadinovirus.

• EfHV is closely related to other European and Eurasian bat gammaherpesviruses.

• The EfHV genome contains coding sequences similar to those of class I and II MHC antigens.

• We detected EfHV in 20 of 28 big brown bats tested.

Abstract

Little is known about the relationship of Gammaherpesviruses with their bat hosts. Gammaherpesviruses are of interest because of their long–term infection of lymphoid cells and their potential to cause cancer. Here, we report the characterization of a novel bat herpesvirus isolated from a big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) in Canada. The genome of the virus, tentatively named Eptesicus fuscus herpesvirus (EfHV), is 166,748 base pairs. Phylogenetically EfHV is a member of Gammaherpesvirinae, in which it belongs to the Genus Rhadinovirus and is closely related to other bat Gammaherpesviruses. In contrast to other known Gammaherpesviruses, the EfHV genome contains coding sequences similar to those of class I and II host major histocompatibility antigens. The virus is capable of infecting and replicating in human, monkey, cat and pig cell lines. Although we detected EfHV in 20 of 28 big brown bats tested, these bats lacked neutralizing antibodies against the virus.