Phylogeographic analysis of Tula hantavirus highlights a single introduction to central Europe

Abstract Orthohantaviruses are zoonotic pathogens of humans, unique among the bunyaviruses in not being transmitted by an arthropod vector. Tula orthohantavirus (TULV) is an old-world hantavirus, of yet unclear human pathogenicity, with few reported cases of clinically relevant human infection. So far, phylogeographic studies exploring global pathways of hantaviral migration are scarce and generally do not focus on a specific hantavirus species. The aim of the present study was to reconstruct the dispersal history of TULV lineages across Eurasia, based on S segment sequences sampled from different geographic areas. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods were used to perform the phylogenetic analysis and phylogeographic reconstructions. Sampling time and trapping localities were obtained for the total of 735 TULV S segment sequences available in public databases at the time of the study. The estimated substitution rate of the analyzed partial S segment alignment was 2.26 x 10-3 substitution/site/year (95% HPD interval: 1.79 x 10-3 – 2.75 x 10-3). Continuous phylogeography of TULV S segment sequences placed the potential root and origin of TULV spread in the Black Sea region. In our study, we detect a single lineage introduction of TULV to Europe, followed by local viral circulation further on.