Borna disease virus 2 maintains genomic polymorphisms by superinfection in persistently infected cells.

ABSTRACT: Mammalian orthobornaviruses, such as Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) and variegated squirrel bornavirus 1, are zoonotic pathogens that cause fatal encephalitis in humans. BoDV-2, another mammalian orthobornavirus with high genetic homology to BoDV-1, is believed to share the same geographical distribution as BoDV-1, indicating its potential risk to human health. However, due to the limited number of isolations, the virological characteristics of BoDV-2, such as pathogenicity and infectivity, remain largely unexplored. Here, we re-evaluated the whole-genome sequence of BoDV-2 and established a reverse genetics system to investigate its virological properties. Compared to the published reference sequence, we identified two nonsynonymous nucleotide substitutions in the large (L) gene, one of w

SUBMITTER: Kanda T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12006538 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature