Molecular evolution of emerging Banna virus

•The potential origin and evolution of BAV were analyzed.•BAV is an emerging virus that is at a stage of rapid evolution.•BAV does not exhibit a species barrier.•Factors such as global warming and increased transportation may greatly facilitate the spread of BAV.•In-depth research and enhanced surveillance of BAV are highly recommended.

Banna virus (BAV) is an emerging pathogen that causes human viral encephalitis and has been isolated from types of blood-sucking insects and mammals in Asia. However, there are no reported systematic studies that describe the origin and evolution of BAV. Here, a phylogenetic analysis of BAVs isolated from a variety of potential vectors and vertebrate hosts worldwide revealed that BAVs emerged in the beginning of the 20th century and do not exhibit a species barrier. The mean substitution rate of BAVs was 2.467 × 10− 2 substitution/site/year (95% HPD, 1.093 × 10− 3 to 5.628 × 10− 2). The lineage is mainly composed of BAVs from high-latitude regions, which are the most recently emerged viruses with significantly higher substitution rates compared with the lineage comprised of the isolates from middle or low-latitude regions. The genetic differences between BAV strains are positively correlated with the geographic distribution. Strains from the same latitude regions are almost 100% identical, whereas the differences between strains from long distance regions with different latitudes could be > 60%. Our results demonstrate that BAV is an emerging virus at a stage that involves rapid evolution and has great potential for introduction into non-endemic areas. Thus, enhanced surveillance of BAV is highly recommended worldwide.