Two viruses were isolated from bovine blood in the southernmost part of Japan in 1994 and 2001, respectively. These viruses were identified by genetic analysis as the Batai virus (BATV) of the genus Orthobunyavirus of the family Bunyaviridae. The sequencing of three genomic RNA segments of the Japanese and Malaysian BATV strains revealed that the M RNA segment of BATV had a high sequence identity with that of the Ngari virus (NRIV). However, phylogenetic analysis showed that the S and L segments of NRIV diverged from those of the BATV virus and were closely related to those of the Bunyamwera virus (BUNV). Our results indicate that NRIV is a genetic reassortant with the S and L RNA segments from BUNV and an M RNA segment from BATV.
(Research Team for Environmental/Enzootic Diseases, TEL +81-99-268-2078)
Reference:
Yanase et al. (2006) Arch. Virol. 151 : 2253-2260.
