Detection of a novel parahenipavirus from northern short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda [Say, 1823])

Parahenipaviruses (genus Parahenipavirus) are non-segmented negative strand RNA viruses belonging to the family Paramyxoviridae of the order Mononegavirales. Parahenipaviruses have been detected from shrews and rodents, some of which have been reported to be associated with human diseases. Although many parahenipaviruses have been identified thus far, there still exist large phylogenetic gaps in parahenipaviruses, suggesting the existence of yet-to-be-identified parahenipaviruses. In this study, we analyzed public RNA-seq data and identified a novel parahenipavirus from northern short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda [Say, 1823]), tentatively named Blarina brevicauda virus (BbV). Based on sequence comparisons between BbV and its most closely related viruses, which meet the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses species demarcation criteria, we propose that BbV is a novel species of virus in the genus Parahenipavirus. Furthermore, mapping analysis using RNA-seq data derived from multiple tissues of northern short-tailed shrews suggested that BbV is kidney-tropic. This study provides novel insights into the diversity of parahenipaviruses, which would contribute to a deeper understanding of their evolution and control of infectious diseases.