Phylogenetic analysis of the S segment from Juquitiba hantavirus: Identification of two distinct lineages in Oligoryzomys nigripes

- The phylogenetic analysis of the complete S segment revealed two distinct lineages.
- One clade is composed only of the JUQV from non-endemic areas in Brazil.
- The support for the distinct genetic lineages comes from the amino acid signatures.
- The lineages are in accordance with the phylogeographic pattern of the reservoir.
- These observations suggest common evolutionary history for the non-endemic lineage.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the phylogenetic relationship of the Juquitiba virus (JUQV) carried by Oligoryzomys nigripes in endemic and non-endemic areas of Brazil. Wild rodents infected with the Juquitiba virus (JUQV) were sampled from a non-Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome endemic area in Brazil. Three strains from O. nigripes were identified by the sequencing of the complete S segment and compared to previous studies of JUQV available in GenBank. The phylogenetic analysis of the complete S segment revealed two distinct clades; the first clade was composed of the JUQV from two non-endemic areas in Brazil and the second clade contained JUQV strains from Argentina, Paraguay and other Brazilian endemic areas.