Phylogeographic Aspects of Bat Lyssaviruses in Europe: A Review

Abstract

During the last few decades, bat lyssaviruses have become the topic of intensive molecular and epidemiological investigations. Since ancient times, rhabdoviruses have caused fatal encephalitis in humans which has led to research into effective strategies for their eradication. Modelling of potential future cross-species virus transmissions forms a substantial component of the recent infection biology of rabies. In this article, we summarise the available data on the phylogeography of both bats and lyssaviruses in Europe and the adjacent reg ions, especially in the contact zone between the Palearctic and Ethiopian realms. Within these zones, three bat families are present with high potential for cross-species transmission and the spread of lyssaviruses in Phylogroup II to Europe (part of the western Palearctic). The lack of effective therapies for rabies viruses in Phylogroup II and the most divergent lyssaviruses generates impetus for additional phylogenetic and virological research within this geographical region.

Keywords: Chiroptera; evolution; health; lyssavirus phylogroups; transition routes.

Figure 1

Distribution of bat lyssaviruses in Europe. Abbreviations used: WCBV—West Caucasian bat lyssavirus; LLEBV—Lleida bat lyssavirus; KBLV—Kotalahti bat lyssavirus; BBLV—Bokeloh bat lyssavirus; EBLV-1—European bat lyssavirus 1; EBLV-2—European bat lyssavirus 2; DBLV—Divača bat lyssavirus, Seropositive—Seropositive Blood samples.

Figure 2

Phylogeny of bat lyssaviruses. The N + P + M + G + L coding regions of representative reference sequences of lyssaviruses used in the analysis were derived from Genbank. The evolutionary history was inferred by using the Maximum Likelihood method and General Time Reversible model [91]. There were a total of 568 positions in the final dataset. Evolutionary analyses were conducted in MEGA X [92]. Virus names are: RABV—rabies virus, ARAV—Aravan virus, ABLV—Australian bat lyssavirus, BBLV—Bokeloh bat lyssavirus, DUVV—Duvenhage virus, EBLV-1—European bat lyssavirus 1, EBLV-2—European bat lyssavirus 2, GBLV—Gannoruwa bat lyssavirus, IKOV—Ikoma virus, IRKV—Irkut virus, KHUV—Khujand virus, LBV—Lagos bat virus, MOKV—Mokola virus, SHIBV—Shimoni bat virus, KBVL—Kotalahti bat lyssavirus, DBLV—Divača bat lyssavirus, TWBLV-1—Taiwan bat lyssavirus 1, and TWBLV-2—Taiwan bat lyssavirus 2.

Figure 3

Zoogeographical distributions of Rousettus aegyptiacus and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum according to IUCN and their contact zone between the Ethiopian and Palearctic realms.