Divergent bornaviruses from Australian carpet pythons with neurological disease date the origin of extant Bornaviridae prior to the end-Cretaceous extinction.

ABSTRACT: Tissue samples from Australian carpet pythons (Morelia spilota) with neurological disease were screened for viruses using next-generation sequencing. Coding complete genomes of two bornaviruses were identified with the gene order 3'-N-X-P-G-M-L, representing a transposition of the G and M genes compared to other bornaviruses and most mononegaviruses. Use of these viruses to search available vertebrate genomes enabled recognition of further endogenous bornavirus-like elements (EBLs) in diverse placental mammals, including humans. Codivergence patterns and shared integration sites revealed an ancestral laurasiatherian EBLG integration (77 million years ago [MYA]) and a previously identified afrotherian EBLG integration (83 MYA). The novel python bornaviruses clustered more closely with these

SUBMITTER: Hyndman TH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5834213 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature