ORCID
- Jarvis, Michael: 0000-0002-0124-4061
Abstract
Polyomaviruses infect a diverse range of mammalian and avian hosts, and are associated with a variety of symptoms. However, it is unknown whether the viruses are found in all mammalian families and the evolutionary history of the polyomaviruses is still unclear. Here, we report the discovery of a novel polyomavirus in the European badger (Meles meles), which to our knowledge represents the first polyomavirus to be characterized in the family Mustelidae, and within a European carnivoran. Although the virus was discovered serendipitously in the supernatant of a cell culture inoculated with badger material, we subsequently confirmed its presence in wild badgers. The European badger polyomavirus was tentatively named Meles meles polyomavirus 1 (MmelPyV1). The genome is 5187 bp long and encodes proteins typical of polyomaviruses. Phylogenetic analyses including all known polyomavirus genomes consistently group MmelPyV1 with California sea lion polyomavirus 1 across all regions of the genome. Further evolutionary analyses revealed phylogenetic discordance amongst polyomavirus genome regions, possibly arising from evolutionary rate heterogeneity, and a complex association between polyomavirus phylogeny and host taxonomic groups.
DOI
10.1099/vir.0.000071
Publication Date
2015-06-01
Publication Title
Journal of General Virology
Volume
96
Issue
6
ISSN
0022-1317
Organisational Unit
School of Biomedical Sciences
First Page
1411
Last Page
1422
Recommended Citation
Hill, S. C., Murphy, A., Cotten, M., Palser, A., Benson, P., Lesellier, S., Gormley, E., Richomme, C., Grierson, S., Bhuachalla, D., Chambers, M., Kellam, P., Boschiroli, M., Ehlers, B., Jarvis, M., & Pybus, O. (2015) 'Discovery of a polyomavirus in European badgers (Meles meles) and the evolution of host range in the family Polyomaviridae', Journal of General Virology, 96(6), pp. 1411-1422. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.000071
