Abstract
Sequences derived from parvoviruses (family Parvoviridae) occur relatively frequently in eukaryotic genomes, and can be used to investigate the co-evolutionary history of parvoviruses and their hosts. Here, we report the identification of sequences derived from amdoparvoviruses in the genome of a rodent - the Transcaucasian mole vole (Ellobius lutescens). We recovered the putative ancestral coding sequences of these endogenous viral elements, and showed that they group robustly with exogenous amdoviruses in phylogenetic trees. We identified the corresponding empty genomic integration sites in the genome of a sister species - the northern mole vole (Ellobius talpinus) - indicating that both elements were integrated into the Ellobius lutescens germline within the last 10 million years. Our findings extend the host range of amdoparvoviruses to a second mammalian order (Rodentia), and indicate that the various carnivore amdoviruses that have so far been identified are likely to derive from independent cross-species transmission events.