Bergner, L. M. , Mollentze, N. , Orton, R. J. , Tello, C., Broos, A. , Biek, R. and Streicker, D. G. (2021) Characterizing and evaluating the zoonotic potential of novel viruses discovered in vampire bats. Viruses, 13(2), 252. (doi: 10.3390/v13020252) (PMID:33562073) (PMCID:PMC7914986)
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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.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Orton, Dr Richard and Biek, Professor Roman and Mollentze, Dr Nardus and Broos, Ms Alice and Streicker, Professor Daniel and Bergner, Dr Laura |
| Creator Roles: | Bergner, L. M.Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing Mollentze, N.Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Software, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing Orton, R. J.Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Software, Supervision, Writing – review and editing Biek, R.Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – review and editing Streicker, D. G.Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing Broos, A.Investigation, Writing – review and editing |
| Authors: | Bergner, L. M., Mollentze, N., Orton, R. J., Tello, C., Broos, A., Biek, R., and Streicker, D. G. |
| College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Virus Research College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine |
| Journal Name: | Viruses |
| Publisher: | MDPI |
| ISSN: | 1999-4915 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1999-4915 |
| Published Online: | 06 February 2021 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2021 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in Viruses 13(2): 252 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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