Spatio-temporal dynamics of Hendra virus in Australia reveal stable maintenance of diverse viral clades among Pteropus bats
Hendra virus (HeV) was discovered in 1994 in Australia. Limited genomic data have hindered comprehensive understanding of HeV's evolutionary dynamics. Here we recovered 48 HeV genomes from bats and 9 from horses from Australia between 2016 and 2020, revealing four distinct clades. Each clade was distributed over a large spatial area with multiple clades co-circulating within a single bat roost on the same day and over consecutive years. The diversity and temporal stability of co-circulating clades suggest that viral dynamics are driven by episodic shedding of existing lineages maintained at the population level, rather than immune-driven strain-replacement dynamics. HeV isolates of different clades displayed variation in phenotypic properties but minimal antigenic differences. We provide an overview of evolutionary dynamics, phenotypic properties and assessment of countermeasures for HeV, and provide insights into the processes that maintain virus diversity in bats and influence the potential for viral emergence.
Authors
- Claude Kwe Yinda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5195-5478)
- William H. Carr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1987-9070)
- Érica T. Prates (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6581-5054)
- John‐Sebastian Eden (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1374-3551)
- J. Wang
- Vincent J. Munster (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2288-3196)
- Manesh Shah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1436-5345)
- Daniel Jacobson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9822-8251)
- Mirko Pavicic (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2908-3183)
- Daniel Crowley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4262-253X)
- Kim Halpin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1279-5010)
- Benny Borremans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7779-4107)
- Anna Hendrika Cornelia Vlot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9538-987X)
- Kent Barbian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9861-6150)
- Trenton Bushmaker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2161-4808)
- Sarah L. Anzick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4907-513X)
- Caylee Falvo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1520-137X)
- Benjamin Greene (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3973-9753)
- Kimberly Meade-White
- Raina K. Plowright
- Devin N. Jones-Slobodian
- Tamika J. Lunn
- Alison J. Peel
- Sarah van Tol
- Brown Bulloch
- Craig Martens
Institutions
- Griffith University (AU)
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- National Development and Research Institutes (US)
- University of Georgia (US)
- Cornell University (US)
- Montana State University (US)
- Taronga Conservation Society Australia (AU)
- Medgar Evers College (US)
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (US)
- Australian e-Health Research Centre (AU)
- Westmead Institute for Medical Research (AU)
- Office of Extramural Research (US)
- Japan Wildlife Research Center (JP)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Microbiology
- Published
- 2026-04-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-025-02254-7
- Primary Topic
- Virology and Viral Diseases
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Montana State University
- Public Health Agency of Canada
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Australian Government
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
- Public Health Agency
- University of Sydney
- Griffith University
- Queensland Government
- National Institutes of Health
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Office of Science
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- NHLBI Division of Intramural Research