A preliminary study of the virome of the South American free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) and identification of two novel mammalian viruses

Bolatti, Elisa M. (author), Zorec, Tomaž Mark (author), Montani, María E. (author), Hošnjak, Lea (author), Chouhy, Diego (author), Viarengo, Gastón (author), Casal, Pablo E. (author), Barquez, Rubén M. (author), Poljak, Mario (author), Giri, Adriana A. (author)

Bats provide important ecosystem services as pollinators, seed dispersers, and/or insect controllers, but they have also been found harboring different viruses with zoonotic potential. Virome studies in bats distributed in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America have increased dramatically over the past decade, whereas information on viruses infecting South American species is scarce. We explored the virome of Tadarida brasiliensis, an insectivorous New World bat species inhabiting a maternity colony in Rosario (Argentina), by a metagenomic approach. The analysis of five pooled oral/anal swab samples indicated the presence of 43 different taxonomic viral families infecting a wide range of hosts. By conventional nucleic acid detection techniques and/or bioinformatics approaches, the genomes of two novel viruses were completely covered clustering into the Papillomaviridae (Tadarida brasiliensis papillomavirus type 1, TbraPV1) and Genomoviridae (Tadarida brasiliensis gemykibivirus 1, TbGkyV1) families. TbraPV1 is the first papillomavirus type identified in this host and the prototype of a novel genus. TbGkyV1 is the first genomovirus reported in New World bats and constitutes a new species within the genus Gemykibivirus. Our findings extend the knowledge about oral/anal viromes of a South American bat species and contribute to understand the evolution and genetic diversity of the novel characterized viruses.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Tadarida brasiliensis, metagenomics, bats, Papillomaviridae, TbraPV1, Genomoviridae, TbGkyV1
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2020
• Number of pages: 23 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 12, iss. 4, art. 422
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-133377
• UDC: 616.9
• ISSN on article: 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v12040422
• COBISS.SI-ID: 34773209
• Publication date in RUL: 24.11.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Viruses
• Shortened title: Viruses
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1999-4915
• COBISS.SI-ID: 517597977

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 09.04.2020

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: Tadarida brasiliensis, metagenomika, netopirji