Diversity and circulation of Jingmen tick virus in ticks and mammals

Abstract

Since its initial identification in ticks in 2010, Jingmen tick virus (JMTV) has been described in cattle, rodents and primates. To better understand the diversity, evolution and transmission of JMTV, we sampled 215 ticks, 104 cattle bloods, 216 bats and 119 rodents in Wenzhou city, Zhejiang province, China, as well as 240 bats from Guizhou and Henan provinces. JMTV was identified in 107 ticks (from two species), 54 bats (11 species), eight rodents (three species), and 10 cattle, with prevalence levels of 49.8%, 11.8%, 6.7% and 9.6%, respectively, suggesting that bats may be a natural reservoir of JMTV. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that all the newly identified JMTVs were closely related to each other and to previously described viruses. Additionally, all tick and mammalian JMTV sampled in Wenzhou shared a consistent genomic structure, suggesting that the virus can co-circulate between ticks and mammals without observable variation in genome organization. All JMTVs sampled globally could be divided into two phylogenetic groups, Mantel tests suggested that geographic isolation, rather than host species, may be the main driver of JMTV diversity. However, the exact geographical origin of JMTV was difficult to determine, suggesting that this virus has a complex evolutionary history.