Genetic diversity and low-level infection of Malawi polyomavirus in pediatric patients in Brazil
Malawi polyomavirus (MWPyV) has been detected in respiratory and gastrointestinal specimens, mostly in children; however there are limited data on its distribution and diversity. Here, we analyse n = 233 oropharyngeal swabs, collected from pediatric patients in São Paulo State, Brazil for MWPyV and potential co-infections using an integrated molecular, phylogenetic, and ultrastructural approach. We detect MWPyV DNA in 18 samples (7.7%) with low viral loads (mean 266 copies/reaction; range 13-2.3 × 103). Our phylogenetic analysis assigns six genomic sequences to genotype I and one to genotype III. The genome of genotype III shows evidence of putative recombination events with genomic regions related to genotypes II and III. One genotype I sequence forms a distinct phylogenetic branch, suggesting an unsampled or transitional lineage. Our findings provide evidence into the genomic diversity, viral recombination and potentially diverging lineages of MWPyV in pediatric patients. In this study, Slavov et al. identify MWPyV DNA in 7.7% of pediatric oropharyngeal samples from Brazil, predominantly in young children and at low viral loads. Genomic analyses reveal distinct viral lineages and evidence of recombination, while electron microscopy provides ultrastructural evidence of MWPyV particles in respiratory specimens.
Authors
- Maria Carolina Elias (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0501-8280)
- Lúcio Ayres Caldas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1187-557X)
- Gabriel Montenegro de Campos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5181-415X)
- Tiago Souza Salles (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5822-1426)
- Joice Naiara Bertaglia Pereira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2609-5450)
- Cláudia Renata dos Santos Barros (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1582-2010)
- Milene Silva Tino
- M Ando (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5696-4237)
- Jardelina de Souza Todão Bernardino
- Svetoslav Nanev Slavov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0805-6140)
- Isabela Carvalho Brcko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6036-520X)
- Rodrigo Haddad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4699-164X)
- Marta Giovanetti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5849-7326)
- Alex Ranieri Jerônimo Lima (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5283-7502)
- Aryene Góes Trezena (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9992-979X)
- Sandra Coccuzzo Sampaio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6257-3531)
- Carlos Alberto Scrideli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6618-789X)
- James Siqueira Pereira
- Gabriela Marengone Altizani
- Thuany Giovana Pereira Daniel
- Vinícius Carius de Souza
Institutions
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Universidade de Ribeirão Preto (BR)
- Universidade de Brasília (BR)
- Università Campus Bio-Medico (IT)
- Instituto Butantan (BR)
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biophysics (CZ)
- University Center of Brasília (BR)
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2026-10-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78615-5
- Primary Topic
- Polyomavirus and related diseases
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Fundação Butantan