Family: Adenoviridae
Genus: Mastadenovirus
Distinguishing features
Mastadenoviruses infect mammals only, and have been distinguished traditionally from members of other adenovirus genera by serology (since genus members share complement-fixing antigen). Only mastadenoviruses have proteins IX and V.
Virion
Morphology
See discussion under family properties. The 3D structures of the virions of human adenovirus 5 (HAdV-5, species Mastadenovirus caesari), human adenovirus 26 (HAdV-26, species Mastadenovirus dominans), human adenovirus 41 (HAdV-41, species Mastadenovirus faecale) and chimpanzee adenovirus Y25 (species Mastadenovirus exoticum) have been determined (Liu et al., 2010, Yu et al., 2017, Baker et al., 2021, Pérez-Illana et al., 2021, Rafie et al., 2021), as well as those of the fibers of various viruses from the genus including porcine adenovirus 4 (Mastadenovirus porcusquartum) and murine adenovirus 2 (Mastadenovirus muris) (van Raaij et al., 1999, Guardado-Calvo et al., 2010, Singh et al., 2018).
Physicochemical and physical properties
Virus infectivity is inactivated after heating at 56°C for more than 10 min.
Nucleic acid
Mastadenovirus genomes fully sequenced to date range between 27,952 (polar bear adenovirus 1) and 38,073 bp (bat adenovirus WIV11, Mastadenovirus rhinolophidae) (Tan et al., 2016, Böszörményi et al., 2020). Nucleotide composition varies between 31.3% (bat adenovirus 8 strain WIV13, Mastadenovirus humile) (Tan et al., 2016) and 70.0% G+C (ovine adenovirus 8, Mastadenovirus octavum) (Vidovszky et al., 2019). The inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) of mastadenoviruses are in general longer, at 35–419 bp (bat adenovirus 4 strain WIV9 and bovine adenovirus 1) (Kovács et al., 2004, Tan et al., 2016), and more complex (containing a variety of cellular factor-binding sites) than in members of other genera. The genome of human adenovirus 2 (HAdV-2) is 35,937 bp with a nucleotide composition of 55.20% G+C, and the ITR is 103 bp. Nucleic acid detection (mainly by PCR) has essentially replaced serology as the preferred diagnostic method (Echavarria et al., 2001).
Proteins
The unique structural proteins of mastadenoviruses are proteins V and IX. Protein IX is responsible for cementing the hexons on the outer surface of the capsid. Interestingly, polar bear adenovirus 1 lacks protein IX (Dayaram et al., 2018, Böszörményi et al., 2020).
Lipids
None reported.
Carbohydrates
HAdV-2 and HAdV-5 fibers contain O-linked N-acetylglucosamine, which has not been found in the fiber of human adenovirus 7 (HAdV-7) (Mullis et al., 1990).
Genome organization and replication
Genome organization, replication and splicing have been most extensively studied for isolates of the species Mastadenovirus caesari (Figure 3 Adenoviridae) (Davison et al., 2003b, Zhao et al., 2014), and the findings seem to be generally applicable to all mastadenoviruses, except in the E3 and E4 regions (Hemmi et al., 2011, Cortés-Hinojosa et al., 2015, Podgorski et al., 2016, Abendroth et al., 2017, Ridpath et al., 2017, Veith et al., 2023).
The E3 region is most complex in the primate mastadenoviruses and contains up to eight genes (e.g. the chimpanzee adenovirus types of species Mastadenovirus exoticum, such as simian adenovirus 25 [SAdV-25]). This early region is also different in the non-primate mastadenoviruses, e.g. in the bat mastadenoviruses (Ogawa et al., 2017, Jansen van Vuren et al., 2018, Kobayashi et al., 2019). The E3 region is also considerably shorter and less complex in the non-primate mastadenoviruses. The simplest E3 region, comprising a single gene, occurs in murine adenovirus 1 (MAdV-1, Mastadenovirus encephalomyelitidis) and murine adenovirus 3 (MAdV-3, Mastadenovirus cordis). In the E4 region, a single homologue of the HAdV-2 34K protein exists in almost all mastadenoviruses but is duplicated in bovine adenovirus 3 (Mastadenovirus bostertium) and porcine adenovirus 5 (Mastadenovirus porcusquintum) (Nagy et al., 2001, Ahi et al., 2017).
The genes coding protein IX and V occur only in mastadenoviruses. Protein IX, as well as cementing the hexons on the outer surface of the capsid, also acts as a transcriptional activator, takes part in nuclear re-organization, and is involved in the final stages of virus entry (Strunze et al., 2011). Not only does protein V reinforce capsid and enhance genome release from disrupted particles, but it is also involved, in association with cellular protein p32, in transport of viral DNA into the nucleus of the infected cell (Matthews and Russell 1998, Martín-González et al., 2023).
Although the fiber knobs of most mastadenoviruses bind to coxsackievirus and AdV receptor (CAR), CD46, desmoglein-2 or sialic acid (Marttila et al., 2005, Wang et al., 2011), porcine adenovirus 4 fiber has an additional C-terminal galectin domain connected to the head by an RGD-containing sequence, and binds carbohydrates containing lactose and N-acetyl-lactosamine units (Guardado-Calvo et al., 2010, Liu et al., 2020).
Human adenovirus 52 (HAdV-52, species Mastadenovirus russelli) is one of the only three known human mastadenoviruses (the other two are human adenovirus 40 [HAdV-40] and human adenovirus 41 [HAdV-41], Mastadenovirus faecale) that are equipped with both a long and a short fiber (Jones et al., 2007), whereas there is an entire lineage of monkey mastadenoviruses that have this feature (Podgorski et al., 2016). The long fiber of HAdV-52 binds to CAR, and the short fiber knob can use polysialic acid as a receptor on target cells, indicating a dual tropism (Lenman et al., 2018). Similarly, the long fiber of HAdV-40 and HAdV-41 is also CAR-binding, but the short fiber uses heparin sulphate as the cellular receptor (Rajan et al., 2021).
Biology
See discussion under family properties. Recently, a novel adenovirus was described associated with necrotizing bronchiolitis in a captive reindeer (Dastjerdi et al., 2021).
Antigenicity
Genus members share complement-fixing antigen. Besides the hexon, the penton base has been identified as a second immunodominant target in human mastadenoviruses (Tischer et al., 2016). See further discussion under family properties.
Species demarcation criteria
Species demarcation is based on evolutionary distance as reflected by the calculated phylogenetic distances and genome organizational differences. Several species contain multiple similar types (designated by Arabic numbers) that were traditionally distinguished serologically (by virus neutralization). The serological type demarcation criterion is currently being replaced by genomic criteria. Species designation depends on at least two of the following characteristics:
- Phylogenetic distance (>10–15%, based on maximum likelihood analysis of the pol amino acid sequence)
- Genome organization (characteristically in the E3 region)
- Nucleotide composition
- Host range
- Oncogenicity in rodents
- Cross-neutralization
- Ability to recombine
- Number of VA RNA genes
- Hemagglutination
For example, if virus neutralization data are available, lack of cross-neutralization combined with a phylogenetic distance of >15% separates two types into different species. If the phylogenetic distance is between 10 and 15%, any additional common grouping criteria from the list above may classify separate types into the same species even if they were isolated from different hosts. As an example, the most numerous types from the same host, the human mastadenoviruses, can be clearly separated into seven species supported by phylogenetic analysis, their ability to recombine (e.g. between human adenovirus 1, HAdV-2, HAdV-5 and human adenovirus 6), growth characteristics (e.g. HAdV-40 and HAdV-41 show similar restricted capacity), oncogenicity and nucleotide composition (e.g. human adenovirus 12, human adenovirus 18 and human adenovirus 31, which are members of the species Mastadenovirus adamis, share high oncogenicity in rodents and low G+C composition). Mastadenoviruses of species Mastadenovirus dominans have only been isolated from humans, whereas Mastadenovirus adami also includes isolates from chimpanzee, Mastadenovirus blackbeardi includes isolates from chimpanzee and gorilla and detectable even in Neanderthal sequencing data (a HAdV-7 variant) (Ferreira et al., 2024), Mastadenovirus caesari includes isolates from bonobo, chimpanzee, gorilla and orangutan. Mastadenovirus exoticum includes isolates from bonobo and chimpanzee, and Mastadenovirus faecale includes isolates from chimpanzee, gorilla and moustached monkey (Lange et al., 2019). Mastadenovirus russelli includes many Old World monkey isolates (but not a single ape isolate) and a single human serotype, human adenovirus 52. (For further details on different hosts see: https://sites.google.com/site/adenoseq). Ape mastadenoviruses are classified into species otherwise including only human isolates because they are adequately similar to certain human mastadenoviruses according to species demarcation criteria (Roy et al., 2009, Bots et al., 2022). These lineages originated in apes and switched host to humans, in which they were first discovered (Hoppe et al., 2015).
Thus far, >110 human adenovirus genotypes have been proposed from whole genome sequencing data, including a large number of homologous recombinants with unique combinations of earlier identified versions of penton base, hexon and fiber genes (Walsh et al., 2009, Ballmann et al., 2021, Gonzalez et al., 2023). Clearly, the situation is nuanced, and the precise rules and type demarcation criteria for genotypes are still under development.
Related, unclassified viruses
Virus name | Accession number | Abbreviation |
acacia rat adenovirus 1 | OR405326 | |
alpaca adenovirus 1 | GQ499375 | AlAdV-1 |
Angolan free-tailed bat adenovirus | MK325873 | |
Angolan fruit bat adenovirus | MK325855 | |
Asian house shrew adenovirus | KY369965 | |
bat adenovirus 1 (FBV1) | AB303301 | BaAdV-1 |
black-and-white colobus adenovirus 3 | JN163996 | |
black-and-white ruffed lemur adenovirus | MG574576 | |
black howler monkey adenovirus | MG868939 | |
black lemur adenovirus 3 | MG574569 | |
black rat adenovirus | PQ273849 | |
big-eared swamp rat adenovirus | MK325905 | |
bovine adenovirus 11 | MK504014 | BAdV-11 |
bowhead whale adenovirus | MT461298 | |
brown rat adenovirus | KY369966 | |
brown rat adenovirus 1 | PQ273847 | |
brown rat adenovirus 2 | PQ273850 | |
California myotis adenovirus | MK326033 | |
Cantor’s roundleaf bat adenovirus | MK391617 | |
capybara adenovirus 1 | OR405322 | |
Caspian seal adenovirus | OQ511815 | |
cat adenovirus | MF509770 | |
Chinese striped hamster adenovirus | KY369962 | |
Commerson's roundleaf bat adenovirus | MK325810 | |
common degu adenovirus 1 | OR405323 | |
common marmoset adenovirus | MG574581 | |
common noctule adenovirus (BatAdV/MOW15-Nn19/Quixote) (proposed) | PP297886 | |
common vole adenovirus 1 | OR405311 | |
cotton-top tamarin adenovirus | JN377906 | |
crowned lemur adenovirus | MG574566 | |
cyclops roundleaf bat adenovirus | MK325805 | |
Daurian ground squirrel adenovirus | KY369963 | |
David’s myotis adenovirus | OQ190235 | |
Davy's (lesser) naked-backed bat adenovirus | MK326035 | |
diadem leaf-nosed bat adenovirus | MK391623 | |
Djungarian hamster adenovirus | OR405312 | |
dwarf little fruit bat adenovirus | MK325779 | |
deer mouse adenovirus | JF755423 | |
eastern lesser bamboo lemur adenovirus | MG574576 | |
Egyptian tomb bat adenovirus | KX434765 | |
Eurasian beaver adenovirus 1 | OR405340 | |
Eurasian beaver adenovirus 2 | OR405341 | |
European ground squirrel adenovirus 1 | OR405346 | |
European ground squirrel adenovirus 2 | OR405347 | |
European ground squirrel adenovirus 3 | OR405348 | |
European hamster adenovirus 1 | OR405313 | |
fire-bellied brush-furred rat adenovirus | MK249309 | |
Franquet’s epauletted fruit bat adenovirus | MK325811 | |
garden dormouse adenovirus 1 (proposed) | PQ576919 | |
giant poached rat adenovirus | MN318954 | |
giant roundleaf bat adenovirus | MN136610 | |
golden hamster adenovirus 1 | OR405342 | |
golden hamster adenovirus 2 | OR405314 | |
golden-headed lion tamarin adenovirus | MG574585 | |
greater bamboo bat adenovirus 1 (proposed) | OR998870 | |
greater bandicoot rat adenovirus | MK391610 | |
greater horseshow bat adenovirus (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum adenovirus MAG47) (proposed) | PP410069 | |
greater mouse-eared bat adenovirus (F45) (proposed) | PV383552 | |
grey-bellied night monkey adenovirus | MG574577 | |
Guinea pig adenovirus 2 | OR405354 | |
Guyenne spiny rat adenovirus | MT732099 | |
hairy slit-faced bat adenovirus | MK325862 | |
halcyon horseshoe bat adenovirus | MK325791 | |
hamadryas baboon adenovirus | JN163991 | |
Hildegarde’s tomb bat adenovirus | BK066905 | |
Himalayan whiskered bat adenovirus 1 (proposed) | OR998961 | |
Indian flying fox | MT125118 | |
intermediate round-leaf bat adenovirus | OR998830 | |
Jackson’s soft-furred mouse adenovirus | MK249315 | |
jaguar adenovirus | PQ347814 | |
Kachin red-backed vole adenovirus 1 (Yunan rodent adenovirus 2) (proposed) | PQ678115 | |
Kemp’s gerbil adenovirus | MK325884 | |
Kuhl’s pipistrelle adenovirus MAG44 (proposed) | PP410068 | |
Lander's horseshoe bat adenovirus | PQ576919 | |
lemur adenovirus | MG574571 | |
lesser cane rat adenovirus | MK249334 | |
lesser mouse-eared bat adenovirus | OQ599373 | |
little yellow-shouldered bat adenovirus | MK325767 | |
long-nosed monkey adenovirus | MK325763 | |
long-tongued fruit bat adenovirus | MK326031 | |
mandrill adenovirus | KU872872 | |
marmoset adenovirus 1.2 | MG574580 | |
marmot adenovirus 2 | PP098962 | |
marmot adenovirus 3 | PP098963 | |
Mediterranean horseshoe bat adenovirus 2 | KM043080 | |
Misonne’s soft-furred mouse adenovirus | MK249338 | |
Mongalla free-tailed bat adenovirus | MK325787 | |
Mongolian gerbil adenovirus 1 | OR405334 | |
mouse-like pipistrelle adenovirus | MK325812 | |
Müller's giant Sunda rat adenovirus | MK391625 | |
murine adenovirus 4 (proposed) | PQ490628 | MAdV-4 |
Muton’s soft-furred mouse adenovirus | MN318953 | |
natal multimammate mouse adenovirus | MK249337 | |
Peruvian spider monkey adenovirus | PQ550014 | |
Peters's dwarf epauletted fruit bat adenovirus | MK325901 | |
Peters’s mouse adenovirus | MK249311 | |
Petter’s soft-furred mouse adenovirus | MK249326 | |
plateau pica adenovirus 1 | PQ791957 | |
plateau vole adenovirus | PQ792569 | |
rabbit adenovirus | JF699046 | |
red-bellied tamarin adenovirus | MG574586 | |
red colobus adenovirus 3 | JN163999 | |
red-faced spider monkey adenovirus | MG574578 | |
red-fronted lemur adenovirus 2.2 | MG574573 | |
red-handed tamarin adenovirus 2.2 | MG574589 | |
red-rumped agouti adenovirus 1 | OR405325 | |
ring tailed lemur adenovirus | JN377906 | |
Rudd’s mouse adenovirus | MK325783 | |
Rüppell's horseshoe bat adenovirus | MK325880 | |
rusty-bellied brush-furred rat adenovirus | MK325886 | |
Sahyadris forest rat adenovirus | OR906154 | |
sea otter adenovirus 1 | KU561553 | |
simian adenovirus 57 (gibbon, strain GZ2-7) (proposed) | OP921948 | |
simian adenovirus 58 (black-and-white colobus 4 strain CP001 TH/2023) (proposed) | PP985428 | |
simian adenovirus 60 (gelada baboon isolate RNL_2018_0502_VEA) (proposed) | PQ490709 | |
simian adenovirus 61 (gelada baboon isolate RNL_2017_0167_MER) (proposed) | PQ490710 | |
simian adenovirus 64 (gelada baboon isolate RNL_03NOV17_0357_DAS) (proposed) | PQ490717 | |
simian adenovirus 65 (gelada baboon isolate RNL_2018_0955_JEM) (proposed) | PQ490713 | |
small Indian mongoose adenovirus | OK381859 | |
South American fur seal adenovirus | MF175103 | |
Southwest China vole adenovirus | KY369960 | |
squirrel adenovirus 2 | KP335092 | SqAdV-2 |
Stella wood mouse adenovirus | MK326046 | |
striped mouse adenovirus | MN318955 | |
Sundevall’s roundleaf bat adenovirus | MK325784 | |
tailed tailless bat adenovirus | MK325770 | |
tanezumi rat adenovirus 1 (Yunan rodent adenovirus 1) (proposed) | PQ678060 | |
tanezumi rat adenovirus 2 (Yunan rodent adenovirus 3) | PQ678109 | |
Temminck's mouse adenovirus | MK326023 | |
tree shrew adenovirus 2 (TSAdV-HNU3) | PQ855829 | |
tufted capuchin adenovirus 3 | MG574584 | |
weasel adenovirus 1 | MH752751 | |
West African shaggy rat adenovirus | MK325795 | |
white-winged serotine adenovirus | MK325788 | |
Woermann’s bat adenovirus | MK325828 | |
wood mouse adenovirus 1 | OR405352 | |
wood mouse adenovirus 2 | OR405353 | |
yellow-necked mouse adenovirus 1 | OR405337 |
Virus names and virus abbreviations are not official ICTV designations.
“Proposed” indicates that the virus type has been proposed to the ICTV in 2025 as founding a new species (e.g. simian adenovirus 60 “Mastadenovirus bestiae”). Many mastadenoviruses have been detected in samples from domestic and exotic or wild animals by a pol-based consensus PCR (Wellehan et al., 2009), by a IVa2-based consensus PCR (Pantó et al., 2015), or by PCR based on other genes, and no further molecular data are known (Li et al., 2010, Hall et al., 2012, Kim et al., 2017, Lakatos et al., 2017, Argüello-Sánchez et al., 2018, Iglesias-Caballero et al., 2018, Diakoudi et al., 2019, Diffo et al., 2019, Côrte-Real et al., 2020, Kumakamba et al., 2020, De Luca et al., 2021, He et al., 2021, Ntumvi et al., 2021, Vidovszky et al., 2022, Karamendin et al., 2024a, Vidovszky et al., 2024, Ansil et al., 2025, Lian et al., 2025). Nonetheless, this minimal information is sufficient to indicate that these sequences represent novel mastadenoviruses, though longer sequences are needed for robust species classification (Hofmann-Sieber et al., 2020). Metagenomic studies of animal tissues or faecal samples usually result only in partial sequences (Geldenhuys et al., 2018, Wu et al., 2018, Karamendin et al., 2023) but sometimes in complete or coding complete genome sequence making possible the establishment of species for these adenoviruses (Hardmeier et al., 2021, Buck et al., 2024, Buigues et al., 2024b, Buigues et al., 2024a, Moonga et al., 2024, Piewbang et al., 2024, Speranskaya et al., 2024, Wang et al., 2024a, Wang et al., 2024b, Vidovszky et al., 2025).