Ruhugu virus

Ruhugu virus, scientific name Rubivirus ruteetense, is a species of virus in the genus Rubivirus. It was discovered in 2019 in healthy Ugandan bats. It belongs to the family of Matonaviridae, a single-stranded RNA of positive polarity which is enclosed by an icosahedral capsid.

Rubivirus ruteetense
Virus classification e
(unranked): Virus
Realm: Riboviria
Kingdom: Orthornavirae
Phylum: Kitrinoviricota
Class: Alsuviricetes
Order: Hepelivirales
Family: Matonaviridae
Genus: Rubivirus
Species:
Rubivirus ruteetense
Synonyms[1]
  • Ruhugu virus

Discovery and habitat

Ruhugu virus was discovered in healthy Cyclops roundleaf bats in Kibale National Park, Uganda.[2] prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, while looking for coronaviruses carried by bats.[3]

Etymology

Ruhugu virus was named after the Ruteete region of Uganda and the word in the local Tooro language, which describes "the flapping of bat wings in the hollow of a tree: obuhuguhugu"[3]

Structure

Ruhugu virus is closely related to Rubella virus and differs in only one amino acid in the protein it uses to get into host cells.[4] In the fusion protein of the virus and two putative T cell epitopes in the capsid protein of the ruhugu virus the amino acid sequences of four putative B cell epitopes are moderately to highly conserved, suggesting ruhugu viruses have a similar capacity for fusion with the host-cell membrane like rubella virus.[5]

References
  1. Bennett AJ, Paskey AC, Ebinger A, Kuhn JH, Bishop-Lilly KA, Beer M, Goldberg TL (31 July 2020). "Create two new species and rename one species in genus Rubivirus (Hepelivirales: Matonaviridae)" (docx). International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  2. Gibbons, Ann (7 October 2020). "Newly discovered viruses suggest 'German measles' jumped from animals to humans". Science. doi:10.1126/science.abf1520. S2CID 225112037.
  3. Kelly April Tyrrell (7 October 2020). "First relatives of rubella virus discovered in bats in Uganda and mice in Germany". phys.org. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  4. Bennett, Andrew (2020). "Relatives of rubella virus in diverse mammals". Nature. 586 (7829): 424–428. Bibcode:2020Natur.586..424B. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2812-9. PMC 7572621. PMID 33029010.
  5. Bennett, Andrew J.; Paskey, Adrian C.; Ebinger, Arnt; Pfaff, Florian; Priemer, Grit; Höper, Dirk; Breithaupt, Angele; Heuser, Elisa; Ulrich, Rainer G.; Kuhn, Jens H.; Bishop-Lilly, Kimberly A. (7 October 2020). "Relatives of rubella virus in diverse mammals". Nature. 586 (7829): 424–428. Bibcode:2020Natur.586..424B. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2812-9. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 7572621. PMID 33029010.
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