Since 1814, when rubella was first described, the origins of the disease and its causative agent, rubella virus (Matonaviridae: Rubivirus), have remained unclear1. Here we describe ruhugu virus and rustrela virus in Africa and Europe, respectively, which are, to our knowledge, the first known relatives of rubella virus. Ruhugu virus, which is the closest relative of rubella virus, was found in apparently healthy cyclops leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideros cyclops) in Uganda. Rustrela virus, which is an outgroup to the clade that comprises rubella and ruhugu viruses, was found in acutely encephalitic placental and marsupial animals at a zoo in Germany and in wild yellow-necked field mice (Apodemus flavicollis) at and near the zoo. Ruhugu and rustrela viruses share an identical genomic architecture with rubella virus2,3. The amino acid sequences of four putative B cell epitopes in the fusion (E1) protein of the rubella, ruhugu and rustrela viruses and two putative T cell epitopes in the capsid protein of the rubella and ruhugu viruses are moderately to highly conserved4-6. Modelling of E1 homotrimers in the post-fusion state predicts that ruhugu and rubella viruses have a similar capacity for fusion with the host-cell membrane5. Together, these findings show that some members of the family Matonaviridae can cross substantial barriers between host species and that rubella virus probably has a zoonotic origin. Our findings raise concerns about future zoonotic transmission of rubella-like viruses, but will facilitate comparative studies and animal models of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome.

中文翻译：

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不同哺乳动物中风疹病毒的近亲

自 1814 年首次描述风疹以来，该疾病及其病原体风疹病毒（Matonaviridae：Rubivirus）的起源仍不清楚1。在这里，我们分别描述了非洲和欧洲的鲁胡古病毒和鲁斯特雷拉病毒，据我们所知，它们是风疹病毒的第一个已知近亲。鲁胡古病毒是风疹病毒的近亲，在乌干达看似健康的独眼巨人叶鼻蝙蝠（Hipposideros cyclops）中发现。锈菌病毒是由风疹病毒和鲁胡古病毒组成的分支的一个外群，在德国一家动物园的急性脑炎胎盘动物和有袋动物以及该动物园及其附近的野生黄颈田鼠（Apodemus flavicollis）中发现。Ruhugu 和 rustrela 病毒与风疹病毒具有相同的基因组结构2,3。风疹、ruhugu 和 rustrela 病毒融合 (E1) 蛋白中的四个推定 B 细胞表位以及风疹和 ruhugu 病毒衣壳蛋白中两个推定 T 细胞表位的氨基酸序列是中等到高度保守的4-6。融合后状态下的 E1 同源三聚体建模预测鲁胡古病毒和风疹病毒具有相似的与宿主细胞膜融合的能力5。总之，这些发现表明，乳杆菌科的一些成员可以跨越宿主物种之间的巨大障碍，并且风疹病毒可能具有人畜共患起源。我们的研究结果引起了人们对风疹样病毒未来人畜共患传播的担忧，但将促进风疹和先天性风疹综合征的比较研究和动物模型。