Full Genome Sequencing of Three Sedoreoviridae Viruses Isolated from Culicoides spp. (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae) in China

Abstract

<i>Sedoreoviridae</i> is a family of viruses belonging to the order <i>Reovirales</i> and comprises six genera, two of which, <i>Orbivirus</i> and <i>Seadornavirus</i>, contain arboviruses that cause disease in humans and livestock. Areas such as Yunnan Province in southwestern China, have high arboviral activity due in part to warm and wet summers, which support high populations of biting flies such as mosquitoes and <i>Culicoides</i>. Three viral isolates previously obtained from <i>Culicoides</i> collected at cattle farms in Shizong County of Yunnan Province, China, between 2019 and 2020 were completely sequenced and identified as Banna virus (BAV) genotype A of <i>Seadornavirus</i> and serotypes 1 and 7 of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) of <i>Orbivirus</i>. These results suggest that <i>Culicoides</i><i>tainanus</i> and <i>C. orientalis</i> are potential vectors of BAV and EHDV, respectively, and represent the first association of a BAV with <i>C. tainanus</i> and of an arbovirus with <i>C. orientalis</i>. Analysis using VP9 generally agreed with the current groupings within this genus based on VP12, although the classification for some strains should be corrected. Furthermore, the placement of Kadipiro virus (KDV) and Liao ning virus (LNV) in <i>Seadornavirus</i> may need confirmation as phylogenetic analysis placed these viruses as sister to other species in the genus.