Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution (CIIE), Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, UK.
Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK.
J Gen Virol. 2012 Nov;93(Pt 11):2447-2456. doi: 10.1099/vir.0.044826-0. Epub 2012 Aug 22.
Rodent gammaherpesviruses have become important models for understanding human herpesvirus diseases. In particular, interactions between murid herpesvirus 4 and Mus musculus (a non-natural host species) have been extensively studied under controlled laboratory conditions. However, several fundamental aspects of murine gammaherpesvirus biology are not well understood, including how these viruses are transmitted from host to host, and their impacts on host fitness under natural conditions. Here, we investigate the epidemiology of a gammaherpesvirus in free-living wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and bank voles (Myodes glareolus) in a 2-year longitudinal study. Wood mouse herpesvirus (WMHV) was the only herpesvirus detected and occurred frequently in wood mice and also less commonly in bank voles. Strikingly, WMHV infection probability was highest in reproductively active, heavy male mice. Infection risk also showed a repeatable seasonal pattern, peaking in spring and declining through the summer. We show that this seasonal decline can be at least partly attributed to reduced recapture of WMHV-infected adults. These results suggest that male reproductive behaviours could provide an important natural route of transmission for these viruses. They also suggest that gammaherpesvirus infection may have significant detrimental effects in wild hosts, questioning the view that these viruses have limited impacts in natural, co-evolved host species.
啮齿动物γ疱疹病毒已成为理解人类疱疹病毒疾病的重要模型。特别是，在受控的实验室条件下，已广泛研究了鼠疱疹病毒 4 与 Mus musculus（非自然宿主物种）之间的相互作用。然而，关于鼠γ疱疹病毒生物学的几个基本方面仍未得到很好的理解，包括这些病毒如何在宿主间传播，以及它们在自然条件下对宿主适应性的影响。在这里，我们在一项为期 2 年的纵向研究中，调查了自由生活的林鼠（Apodemus sylvaticus）和黑线仓鼠（Myodes glareolus）中γ疱疹病毒的流行病学。林鼠疱疹病毒（WMHV）是唯一检测到的疱疹病毒，在林鼠中频繁发生，在黑线仓鼠中也较少发生。值得注意的是，WMHV 感染的概率在生殖活跃、体重较重的雄性小鼠中最高。感染风险也呈现出可重复的季节性模式，春季最高，夏季逐渐下降。我们表明，这种季节性下降至少部分归因于受感染的成年 WMHV 被捕食者再次捕获的可能性降低。这些结果表明，雄性生殖行为可能为这些病毒提供了重要的自然传播途径。它们还表明，γ疱疹病毒感染可能对野生宿主产生重大不利影响，这对这些病毒在自然进化的宿主物种中影响有限的观点提出了质疑。
