ABSTRACT
There are two distinct strains of ABLV. One is found in the insectivorous bat (Yb-ABLV) Saccolaimus aviventris, commonly known as the yellow-bellied sheathtail bat belonging to the suborder Microchiroptera. The second, in ying foxes (Pt-ABLV) belonging to the Pteropus genus of the suborder Megachiroptera [11,12]. Australian bat lyssavirus isolates have been recovered from all four ying fox species native to mainland Australia: the black ying fox Pteropus alecto, the spectacled ying fox Pteropus conspicillatus, the grey headed ying fox Pteropus poliocephalus, and the little red ying fox Pteropus scapulatus. Among the pteropid strains of ABLV there is a low-genetic variance between isolates from different ying fox species as seen by identical G-gene sequences from ABLV isolates obtained from two different ying-fox species recovered 700 km apart [11]. This is believed to be due to mixed colonies and the large ight range of these ying foxes. This is consistent with our own observations comparing whole genomic sequences of different ABLV isolates (unpublished).
