ORIGINAL ARTICLE Detection of novel polyomaviruses in fruit bats in Indonesia Shintaro Kobayashi • Michihito Sasaki • Ryo Nakao • Agus Setiyono • Ekowati Handharyani • Yasuko Orba • Ibnu Rahmadani • Siswatiana Taha • Sri Adiani • Mawar Subangkit • Ichiro Nakamura • Takashi Kimura • Hirofumi Sawa Received: 4 November 2014 / Accepted: 23 January 2015 Ó Springer-Verlag Wien 2015 Abstract Bats are an important natural reservoir for a variety of viral pathogens, including polyomaviruses (PyVs). The aims of this study were: (i) to determine which PyVs are present in bats in Indonesia and (ii) to analyze the evolutionary relationships between bat PyVs and other known PyVs. Using broad-spectrum polymerase chain re- action (PCR)-based assays, we screened PyV DNA isolated from spleen samples from 82 wild fruit bats captured in Indonesia. Fragments of the PyV genome were detected in 10 of the 82 spleen samples screened, and eight full-length viral genome sequences were obtained using an inverse PCR method. A phylogenetic analysis of eight whole viral genome sequences showed that BatPyVs form two distinct genetic clusters within the proposed genus Orthopoly- omavirus that are genetically different from previously described BatPyVs. Interestingly, one group of BatPyVs is genetically related to the primate PyVs, including human PyV9 and trichodysplasia spinulosa-associated PyV. This study has identified the presence of novel PyVs in fruit bats in Indonesia and provides genetic information about these BatPyVs. Introduction Polyomaviruses (PyVs) are small DNA viruses with a genome of approximately 5 kbp. They belong to the family Polyomaviridae. The viral genome is composed of three parts: the noncoding control region (NCCR), the early Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00705-015-2349-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. S. Kobayashi Á M. Sasaki Á Y. Orba Á H. Sawa (&) Division of Molecular Pathobiology, Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, N20 W10, Kita-ku, Sapporo 001-0020, Japan e-mail: h-sawa@czc.hokudai.ac.jp R. Nakao Unit of Risk Analysis and Management, Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan A. Setiyono Á E. Handharyani Á M. Subangkit Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia I. Rahmadani Veterinary Investigation and Diagnostic Center, Bukittinggi, Indonesia S. Taha Faculty of Agriculture, Gorontalo State University, Gorontalo, Indonesia S. Adiani Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Sam Ratulangi University, Manado, Indonesia I. Nakamura Division of Collaboration and Education, Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan T. Kimura (&) Laboratory of Comparative Pathology, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, N18 W9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan e-mail: tkimura@vetmed.hokudai.ac.jp H. Sawa Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education (GI-CoRE), Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan H. Sawa Global Virus Network, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA 123 Arch Virol DOI 10.1007/s00705-015-2349-7