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Ortiz-Baez AS, Jaenson TGT, Holmes EC, Pettersson JHO, Wilhelmsson P. Substantial viral and bacterial diversity at the bat-tick interface. Microb Genom 2023; 9. [PMID: 36862584 PMCID: PMC10132063 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Ticks harbour a high diversity of viruses, bacteria and protozoa. The soft tick Carios vespertilionis (Argasidae) is a common ectoparasite of bats in the Palearctic region and is suspected to be vector and reservoir of viruses and other microbial species in bat populations, some of which may act as zoonotic agents for human disease. The Soprano pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Vespertilionidae) is widely distributed in Europe, where it can be found inside or close to human habitation. We used meta-transcriptomic sequencing to determine the RNA virome and common microbiota in blood-fed C. vespertilionis ticks collected from a Soprano pipistrelle bat roosting site in south-central Sweden. Our analyses identified 16 viruses from 11 virus families, of which 15 viruses were novel. For the first time in Sweden we identified Issuk-Kul virus, a zoonotic arthropod-borne virus previously associated with outbreaks of acute febrile illness in humans. Probable bat-associated and tick-borne viruses were classified within the families Nairoviridae, Caliciviridae and Hepeviridae, while other invertebrate-associated viruses included members of the Dicistroviridae, Iflaviridae, Nodaviridae, Partitiviridae, Permutotetraviridae, Polycipiviridae and Solemoviridae. Similarly, we found abundant bacteria in C. vespertilionis, including genera with known tick-borne bacteria, such as Coxiella spp. and Rickettsia spp. These findings demonstrate the remarkable diversity of RNA viruses and bacteria present in C. vespertilionis and highlight the importance of bat-associated ectoparasite surveillance as an effective and non-invasive means to track viruses and bacteria circulating in bats and ticks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayda Susana Ortiz-Baez
- Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, School of Medical Sciences, the University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Thomas G T Jaenson
- Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, SE-752 36, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Edward C Holmes
- Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, School of Medical Sciences, the University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - John H-O Pettersson
- Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, School of Medical Sciences, the University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.,Zoonosis Science Center, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Uppsala, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden.,Clinical Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, Uppsala University Hospital, 75237 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Peter Wilhelmsson
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Division of Inflammation and Infection, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Microbiology, Region Jönköping County, SE-553 05 Jönköping, Sweden
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Cholleti H, de Jong J, Blomström AL, Berg M. Characterization of Pipistrellus pygmaeus Bat Virome from Sweden. Viruses 2022; 14:v14081654. [PMID: 36016275 PMCID: PMC9415950 DOI: 10.3390/v14081654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Increasing amounts of data indicate that bats harbor a higher viral diversity relative to other mammalian orders, and they have been recognized as potential reservoirs for pathogenic viruses, such as the Hendra, Nipah, Marburg, and SARS-CoV viruses. Here, we present the first viral metagenomic analysis of Pipistrellus pygmaeus from Uppsala, Sweden. Total RNA was extracted from the saliva and feces of individual bats and analyzed using Illumina sequencing. The results identified sequences related to 51 different viral families, including vertebrate, invertebrate, and plant viruses. These viral families include Coronaviridae, Picornaviridae, Dicistroviridae, Astroviridae, Hepeviridae, Reoviridae, Botourmiaviridae, Lispviridae, Totiviridae, Botoumiaviridae, Parvoviridae, Retroviridae, Adenoviridae, and Partitiviridae, as well as different unclassified viruses. We further characterized three near full-length genome sequences of bat coronaviruses. A phylogenetic analysis showed that these belonged to alphacoronaviruses with the closest similarity (78–99% at the protein level) to Danish and Finnish bat coronaviruses detected in Pipistrellus and Myotis bats. In addition, the full-length and the near full-length genomes of picornavirus were characterized. These showed the closest similarity (88–94% at the protein level) to bat picornaviruses identified in Chinese bats. Altogether, the results of this study show that Swedish Pipistrellus bats harbor a great diversity of viruses, some of which are closely related to mammalian viruses. This study expands our knowledge on the bat population virome and improves our understanding of the evolution and transmission of viruses among bats and to other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harindranath Cholleti
- Section of Virology, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7028, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden; (A.-L.B.); (M.B.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Johnny de Jong
- Swedish Biodiversity Centre (CBM), Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7016, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Anne-Lie Blomström
- Section of Virology, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7028, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden; (A.-L.B.); (M.B.)
| | - Mikael Berg
- Section of Virology, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7028, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden; (A.-L.B.); (M.B.)
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Chirohepevirus from Bats: Insights into Hepatitis E Virus Diversity and Evolution. Viruses 2022; 14:v14050905. [PMID: 35632647 PMCID: PMC9146828 DOI: 10.3390/v14050905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Homologs of the human hepatitis E virus (HEV) have been identified in more than a dozen animal species. Some of them have been evidenced to cross species barriers and infect humans. Zoonotic HEV infections cause chronic liver diseases as well as a broad range of extrahepatic manifestations, which increasingly become significant clinical problems. Bats comprise approximately one-fifth of all named mammal species and are unique in their distinct immune response to viral infection. Most importantly, they are natural reservoirs of several highly pathogenic viruses, which have induced severe human diseases. Since the first discovery of HEV-related viruses in bats in 2012, multiple genetically divergent HEV variants have been reported in a total of 12 bat species over the last decade, which markedly expanded the host range of the HEV family and shed light on the evolutionary origin of human HEV. Meanwhile, bat-borne HEV also raised critical public health concerns about its zoonotic potential. Bat HEV strains resemble genomic features but exhibit considerable heterogeneity. Due to the close evolutionary relationships, bat HEV altogether has been recently assigned to an independent genus, Chirohepevirus. This review focuses on the current state of bat HEV and provides novel insights into HEV genetic diversity and molecular evolution.
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Hardmeier I, Aeberhard N, Qi W, Schoenbaechler K, Kraettli H, Hatt JM, Fraefel C, Kubacki J. Metagenomic analysis of fecal and tissue samples from 18 endemic bat species in Switzerland revealed a diverse virus composition including potentially zoonotic viruses. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0252534. [PMID: 34133435 PMCID: PMC8208571 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Many recent disease outbreaks in humans had a zoonotic virus etiology. Bats in particular have been recognized as reservoirs to a large variety of viruses with the potential to cross-species transmission. In order to assess the risk of bats in Switzerland for such transmissions, we determined the virome of tissue and fecal samples of 14 native and 4 migrating bat species. In total, sequences belonging to 39 different virus families, 16 of which are known to infect vertebrates, were detected. Contigs of coronaviruses, adenoviruses, hepeviruses, rotaviruses A and H, and parvoviruses with potential zoonotic risk were characterized in more detail. Most interestingly, in a ground stool sample of a Vespertilio murinus colony an almost complete genome of a Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was detected by Next generation sequencing and confirmed by PCR. In conclusion, bats in Switzerland naturally harbour many different viruses. Metagenomic analyses of non-invasive samples like ground stool may support effective surveillance and early detection of viral zoonoses.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nadja Aeberhard
- Institute of Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Weihong Qi
- Functional Genomics Center Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Jean-Michel Hatt
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Cornel Fraefel
- Institute of Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jakub Kubacki
- Institute of Virology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Bergner LM, Mollentze N, Orton RJ, Tello C, Broos A, Biek R, Streicker DG. Characterizing and Evaluating the Zoonotic Potential of Novel Viruses Discovered in Vampire Bats. Viruses 2021; 13:252. [PMID: 33562073 PMCID: PMC7914986 DOI: 10.3390/v13020252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The contemporary surge in metagenomic sequencing has transformed knowledge of viral diversity in wildlife. However, evaluating which newly discovered viruses pose sufficient risk of infecting humans to merit detailed laboratory characterization and surveillance remains largely speculative. Machine learning algorithms have been developed to address this imbalance by ranking the relative likelihood of human infection based on viral genome sequences, but are not yet routinely applied to viruses at the time of their discovery. Here, we characterized viral genomes detected through metagenomic sequencing of feces and saliva from common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) and used these data as a case study in evaluating zoonotic potential using molecular sequencing data. Of 58 detected viral families, including 17 which infect mammals, the only known zoonosis detected was rabies virus; however, additional genomes were detected from the families Hepeviridae, Coronaviridae, Reoviridae, Astroviridae and Picornaviridae, all of which contain human-infecting species. In phylogenetic analyses, novel vampire bat viruses most frequently grouped with other bat viruses that are not currently known to infect humans. In agreement, machine learning models built from only phylogenetic information ranked all novel viruses similarly, yielding little insight into zoonotic potential. In contrast, genome composition-based machine learning models estimated different levels of zoonotic potential, even for closely related viruses, categorizing one out of four detected hepeviruses and two out of three picornaviruses as having high priority for further research. We highlight the value of evaluating zoonotic potential beyond ad hoc consideration of phylogeny and provide surveillance recommendations for novel viruses in a wildlife host which has frequent contact with humans and domestic animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M. Bergner
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK; (N.M.); (R.B.); (D.G.S.)
- MRC–University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK; (R.J.O.); (A.B.)
| | - Nardus Mollentze
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK; (N.M.); (R.B.); (D.G.S.)
- MRC–University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK; (R.J.O.); (A.B.)
| | - Richard J. Orton
- MRC–University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK; (R.J.O.); (A.B.)
| | - Carlos Tello
- Association for the Conservation and Development of Natural Resources, Lima 15037, Peru;
- Yunkawasi, Lima 15049, Peru
| | - Alice Broos
- MRC–University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK; (R.J.O.); (A.B.)
| | - Roman Biek
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK; (N.M.); (R.B.); (D.G.S.)
| | - Daniel G. Streicker
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK; (N.M.); (R.B.); (D.G.S.)
- MRC–University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK; (R.J.O.); (A.B.)
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The Current Host Range of Hepatitis E Viruses. Viruses 2019; 11:v11050452. [PMID: 31108942 PMCID: PMC6563279 DOI: 10.3390/v11050452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Revised: 05/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen transmitting both human to human via the fecal oral route and from animals to humans through feces, direct contact, and consumption of contaminated meat products. Understanding the host range of the virus is critical for determining where potential threats to human health may be emerging from and where potential reservoirs for viral persistence in the environment may be hiding. Initially thought to be a human specific disease endemic to developing countries, the identification of swine as a primary host for genotypes 3 and 4 HEV in industrialized countries has begun a long journey of discovering novel strains of HEV and their animal hosts. As we continue identifying new strains of HEV in disparate animal species, it is becoming abundantly clear that HEV has a broad host range and many of these HEV strains can cross between differing animal species. These cross-species transmitting strains pose many unique challenges to human health as they are often unrecognized as sources of viral transmission.
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Hepatitis E: Current Status in India and Other Asian Countries. JOURNAL OF PURE AND APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.22207/jpam.13.1.15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
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