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Paietta EN, Kraberger S, Custer JM, Vargas KL, Ehmke E, Yoder AD, Varsani A. Metagenome-assembled microvirus and cressdnavirus genomes from fecal samples of house mice ( Mus musculus). Microbiol Resour Announc 2024; 13:e0033124. [PMID: 38975773 PMCID: PMC11320919 DOI: 10.1128/mra.00331-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/09/2024] Open
Abstract
House mice, Mus musculus, are highly adapted to anthropogenic spaces. Fecal samples were collected from house mice entering primate enclosure areas at the Duke Lemur Center (Durham, NC, USA). We identified 14 cressdnavirus and 59 microvirus genomes in these mouse feces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise N. Paietta
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Simona Kraberger
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Joy M. Custer
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Karla L. Vargas
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Erin Ehmke
- Duke Lemur Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Anne D. Yoder
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Arvind Varsani
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Structural Biology Research Unit, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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Di Bartolo I, De Sabato L, Ianiro G, Vaccari G, Dini FM, Ostanello F, Monini M. Exploring the Potential of Muridae as Sentinels for Human and Zoonotic Viruses. Viruses 2024; 16:1041. [PMID: 39066204 PMCID: PMC11281464 DOI: 10.3390/v16071041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2024] [Revised: 06/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
In recent years, the transmission of viruses from wildlife to humans has raised significant public health concerns, exemplified by the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the betacoronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Human activities play a substantial role in increasing the risk of zoonotic virus transmission from wildlife to humans. Rats and mice are prevalent in urban environments and may act as reservoirs for various pathogens. This study aimed to evaluate the presence of zoonotic viruses in wild rats and mice in both urban and rural areas, focusing on well-known zoonotic viruses such as betacoronavirus, hantavirus, arenavirus, kobuvirus, and monkeypox virus, along with other viruses occasionally detected in rats and mice, including rotavirus, norovirus, and astrovirus, which are known to infect humans at a high rate. A total of 128 animals were captured, including 70 brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), 45 black rats (Rattus rattus), and 13 house mice (Mus musculus), and feces, lung, and liver were collected. Among brown rats, one fecal sample tested positive for astrovirus RNA. Nucleotide sequencing revealed high sequence similarity to both human and rat astrovirus, suggesting co-presence of these viruses in the feces. Murine kobuvirus (MuKV) was detected in fecal samples from both black (n = 7) and brown (n = 6) rats, primarily from urban areas, as confirmed by sequence analysis. These findings highlight the importance of surveillance and research to understand and mitigate the risks associated with the potential transmission of pathogens by rodents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Di Bartolo
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy; (I.D.B.); (L.D.S.); (G.I.); (G.V.); (M.M.)
| | - Luca De Sabato
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy; (I.D.B.); (L.D.S.); (G.I.); (G.V.); (M.M.)
| | - Giovanni Ianiro
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy; (I.D.B.); (L.D.S.); (G.I.); (G.V.); (M.M.)
| | - Gabriele Vaccari
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy; (I.D.B.); (L.D.S.); (G.I.); (G.V.); (M.M.)
| | - Filippo Maria Dini
- Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra, 50, Ozzano dell’Emilia, 40064 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Fabio Ostanello
- Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra, 50, Ozzano dell’Emilia, 40064 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Marina Monini
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy; (I.D.B.); (L.D.S.); (G.I.); (G.V.); (M.M.)
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Reuter G, Boros Á, Takáts K, Mátics R, Pankovics P. A novel mammarenavirus (family Arenaviridae) in hedgehogs (Erinaceus roumanicus) in Europe. Arch Virol 2023; 168:174. [PMID: 37291370 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-023-05804-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
In this study, a novel mammarenavirus (family Arenaviridae) was identified in a hedgehog (family Erinaceidae) in Hungary and genetically characterized. Mecsek Mountains virus (MEMV, OP191655, OP191656) was detected in nine (45%) out of 20 faecal specimens collected from a Northern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus). The L-segment proteins (RdRp and Z) and S-segment proteins (NP and GPC) of MEMV had 67.5%/70% and 74.6%/65.6% amino acid sequence identity, respectively, to the corresponding proteins of Alxa virus (species Mammarenavirus alashanense) identified recently in an anal swab from a three-toed jerboa (Dipus sagitta) in China. MEMV is the second known arenavirus endemic in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gábor Reuter
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Szigeti út 12., 7624, Pécs, Hungary.
| | - Ákos Boros
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Szigeti út 12., 7624, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Károly Takáts
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Szigeti út 12., 7624, Pécs, Hungary
| | | | - Péter Pankovics
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Szigeti út 12., 7624, Pécs, Hungary
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Camp JV, Desvars-Larrive A, Nowotny N, Walzer C. Monitoring Urban Zoonotic Virus Activity: Are City Rats a Promising Surveillance Tool for Emerging Viruses? Viruses 2022; 14:v14071516. [PMID: 35891496 PMCID: PMC9316102 DOI: 10.3390/v14071516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Urban environments represent unique ecosystems where dense human populations may come into contact with wildlife species, some of which are established or potential reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens that cause human diseases. Finding practical ways to monitor the presence and/or abundance of zoonotic pathogens is important to estimate the risk of spillover to humans in cities. As brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) are ubiquitous in urban habitats, and are hosts of several zoonotic viruses, we conducted longitudinal sampling of brown rats in Vienna, Austria, a large population center in Central Europe. We investigated rat tissues for the presence of several zoonotic viruses, including flaviviruses, hantaviruses, coronaviruses, poxviruses, hepatitis E virus, encephalomyocarditis virus, and influenza A virus. Although we found no evidence of active infections (all were negative for viral nucleic acids) among 96 rats captured between 2016 and 2018, our study supports the findings of others, suggesting that monitoring urban rats may be an efficient way to estimate the activity of zoonotic viruses in urban environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy V. Camp
- Institute of Virology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria;
- Center for Virology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Correspondence:
| | - Amélie Desvars-Larrive
- Institute of Food Safety, Food Technology and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria;
- Complexity Science Hub Vienna, 1080 Vienna, Austria
- VetFarm, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Norbert Nowotny
- Institute of Virology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria;
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai P.O. Box 505055, United Arab Emirates
| | - Chris Walzer
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria;
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation Program, Bronx, NY 10460, USA
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