To date, no molecular studies on group C viruses (Bunyaviridae: Orthobunyavirus) have been published. The current work determined the complete small RNA segment and partial medium RNA segment nucleotide sequences for group C members. The full-length SRNA sequences ranged from 915 to 926 nucleotides in length, and revealed similar organization in comparison with other orthobunyaviruses. Based on the 705 nt of the N gene, group C members were distributed into 3 major phylogenetic groups, with the exception of Madrid virus that was placed outside of these 3 groups. Analysis of the Caraparu virus strain BeH 5546 revealed that it has an SRNA sequence nearly identical to that of Oriboca virus and is a natural reassortant virus. In addition, analysis of 345 nucleotides of the Gn gene for seven group C viruses and for strain BeH 5546 revealed a different phylogenetic topology, suggesting a reassortment pattern among them. These findings represent the first evidence for natural reassortment among the group C viruses, which include several human pathogens. Furthermore, our genetic data corroborate previous antigenic relationships determined using serologic assays (complement fixation, hemagglutination inhibition and neutralization tests), and suggest that a combination of informative molecular, serological and ecological data is a helpful tool to understand the molecular epidemiology of orthobunyavirus.
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