Mull Nathaniel, Erdin Mert, Letko Michael, Seifert Stephanie N, Sironen Tarja, Smura Teemu, Forbes Kristian M
Department of Natural Sciences, Shawnee State University, Portsmouth, OH, USA.
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
Npj Viruses. 2025 Sep 18;3(1):70. doi: 10.1038/s44298-025-00153-6.
We report the discovery and characterization of a new orthohantavirus species in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) named Sager Creek virus (SACRV). We performed molecular and ecological characterization of SACRV, including genome sequencing, assessment of its potential to infect human cells, and monitoring of wild vole populations. Phylogenetically, SACRV is most closely related to Prospect Hill virus, another Microtus-borne American orthohantavirus. Cell entry assays of SACRV pseudotypes were successful in both prairie vole and human cells, demonstrating zoonotic potential. Virus prevalence in wild vole populations was approximately 20% throughout the vole reproductive seasons, reflecting the reservoir host capacity of prairie voles to maintain and transmit SACRV in nature. As only the second fully sequenced arvicoline-borne orthohantavirus in the Americas, this discovery also provides insights into global orthohantavirus evolution and distribution, while our molecular and ecological assessments highlight the utility of the prairie vole-SACRV relationship as a model pathogen system.
我们报告了在草原田鼠（Microtus ochrogaster）中发现并鉴定出一种新的正汉坦病毒物种，命名为萨格尔溪病毒（SACRV）。我们对SACRV进行了分子和生态学特征分析，包括基因组测序、评估其感染人类细胞的潜力以及监测野生田鼠种群。在系统发育上，SACRV与另一种由田鼠传播的美国正汉坦病毒——展望山病毒关系最为密切。SACRV假型的细胞进入试验在草原田鼠和人类细胞中均成功，证明了其人畜共患病潜力。在整个田鼠繁殖季节，野生田鼠种群中的病毒流行率约为20%，这反映了草原田鼠在自然界中维持和传播SACRV的储存宿主能力。作为美洲第二种完全测序的田鼠传播的正汉坦病毒，这一发现也为全球正汉坦病毒的进化和分布提供了见解，而我们的分子和生态学评估突出了草原田鼠-SACRV关系作为模型病原体系统的实用性。
