Distinct genomic features of Transeurasian strains of Epstein-Barr virus in East Asia

More than 95% of adult humans worldwide are latently infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Recent studies indicated that different EBV strains colonize different regions of Asia, where nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is endemic (southern China) or non-endemic (Japan/Korea). We searched for viral single nucleotide variant markers throughout the EBV genome by comparing the coding sequences of Japanese/Korean and NPC-endemic Chinese strains. We identified BamHI D fragment leftward reading frame 1 (BDLF1), BDLF2, and BDLF3 genes as viral geographical markers for distinguishing Japanese/Korean EBV strains from NPC-endemic Chinese EBV strains. Most significantly, BDLF-based EBV genotyping indicated that NPC-non-endemic Chinese and Mongolian EBV strains belong to the same group as Japanese/Korean EBV strains. We conclude that a particular type of EBV, designated as Transeurasian EBV, is prevalent among Transeurasian language speakers (Japanese, Korean, and Mongolian populations) and NPC-non-endemic Chinese populations.