The discovery of Bombali virus adds further support for bats as hosts of ebolaviruses

Tracey Goldstein; Simon J Anthony; Aiah Gbakima; Brian H Bird; James Bangura; Alexandre Tremeau-Bravard; Manjunatha N Belaganahalli; Heather L Wells; Jasjeet K Dhanota; Eliza Liang; Michael Grodus; Rohit K Jangra; Veronica A DeJesus; Gorka Lasso; Brett R Smith; Amara Jambai; Brima O Kamara; Sorie Kamara; William Bangura; Corina Monagin; Sagi Shapira; Christine K Johnson; Karen Saylors; Edward M Rubin; Kartik Chandran; W Ian Lipkin; Jonna A K Mazet

doi:10.1038/s41564-018-0227-2

The discovery of Bombali virus adds further support for bats as hosts of ebolaviruses

Nat Microbiol. 2018 Oct;3(10):1084-1089. doi: 10.1038/s41564-018-0227-2. Epub 2018 Aug 27.

Authors

Tracey Goldstein¹, Simon J Anthony^{2 3 4}, Aiah Gbakima⁵, Brian H Bird⁶, James Bangura⁵, Alexandre Tremeau-Bravard⁶, Manjunatha N Belaganahalli⁶, Heather L Wells⁷, Jasjeet K Dhanota⁶, Eliza Liang^{7 8}, Michael Grodus⁷, Rohit K Jangra⁹, Veronica A DeJesus⁹, Gorka Lasso¹⁰, Brett R Smith⁶, Amara Jambai¹¹, Brima O Kamara¹², Sorie Kamara¹³, William Bangura¹⁴, Corina Monagin^{6 15}, Sagi Shapira^{10 16}, Christine K Johnson⁶, Karen Saylors¹⁵, Edward M Rubin¹⁵, Kartik Chandran⁹, W Ian Lipkin^{7 17}, Jonna A K Mazet⁶

Affiliations

¹ One Health Institute & Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA. tgoldstein@ucdavis.edu.
² Center for Infection and Immunity, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. sja2127@cumc.columbia.edu.
³ Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. sja2127@cumc.columbia.edu.
⁴ EcoHealth Alliance, New York, NY, USA. sja2127@cumc.columbia.edu.
⁵ Metabiota, Inc. Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
⁶ One Health Institute & Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
⁷ Center for Infection and Immunity, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
⁸ EcoHealth Alliance, New York, NY, USA.
⁹ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Systems Biology, Irving Cancer Research Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
¹¹ Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
¹² Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Makeni, Sierra Leone.
¹³ Livestock and Veterinary Services Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
¹⁴ Forestry and Wildlife Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
¹⁵ Metabiota, Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.

Abstract

Here we describe the complete genome of a new ebolavirus, Bombali virus (BOMV) detected in free-tailed bats in Sierra Leone (little free-tailed (Chaerephon pumilus) and Angolan free-tailed (Mops condylurus)). The bats were found roosting inside houses, indicating the potential for human transmission. We show that the viral glycoprotein can mediate entry into human cells. However, further studies are required to investigate whether exposure has actually occurred or if BOMV is pathogenic in humans.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Cell Line, Tumor
Chiroptera / classification
Chiroptera / genetics
Chiroptera / virology*
Ebolavirus / classification
Ebolavirus / genetics*
Genome, Viral / genetics
Humans
Phylogeny
Viral Envelope Proteins / genetics
Viral Envelope Proteins / metabolism
Viral Load
Virus Internalization

Substances

Viral Envelope Proteins

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding