Mutant identifying a third recombination group in a bunyavirus

Abstract

Only two recombination groups have been reported in genetic analyses of ts mutants of 10 different bunyaviruses from the Bunyamwera and California encephalitis serogroups, although three groups are expected from the tripartite structure of the genome of all members of the family Bunyaviridae. We describe now a ts mutant of Maguari virus, MAGts23(III), which recombined in both vertebrate (BHK-21) and invertebrate (Aedes albopictus) cells with mutants representing recombination groups I and II of this Bunyamwera serogroup virus. In addition, MAGts23(III) recombined with two mutants MAGts20 and MAGts21, provisionally identified as double mutants by their failure to recombine with group I or group II mutants, Mutant MAGts23(III) therefore represents a third bunyavirus recombination group. Mutant MAGts23(III) differed phenotypically from other bunyavirus mutants by growth restriction in BS-C-1 cells. Wild-type recombinants were obtained in the heterologous cross of MAGts23(III) and a group II mutant of Bunyamwera virus, but not in a cross with a group I mutant. The recombinants had the G protein of the Maguari virus parent and the N protein of the Bunyamwera virus parent. Analysis of the phenotypes of clones isolated at permissive temperature from the progeny of the other cross [MAGts23(III) and a group I mutant of Bunyamwera virus] indicated that recombination occurred in this cross, but that the possible recombinant phenotypes were not recovered with equal frequency. As a consequence, it has not been possible to obtain a gene assignment for group III from genetic data alone.