Virome characterization and identification of a putative parvovirus and poxvirus in bat ectoparasites of Yunnan Province, China.

ABSTRACT: Ectoparasites found on bats are known to contain important microbes. However, the viruses hosted by these obligate parasites are understudied. This has led to the near oversight of the potential role of these ectoparasites in virus maintenance and transmission from bats to other interacting species and the environment. Here, we sampled bat ectoparasites parasitizing a diverse selection of bat species in the families Rhinolophidae, Vespertilionidae, Megadermatidae, Hipposideridae and Pteropodidae in Yunnan Province, China. We show that the ectoparasite prevalence was generally higher in male compared to female bats. Most ectoparasites were found to fall within the Nycteribiidae, Spinturnicidae and Streblidae bat ectoparasite families. We subsequently applied a non-biased sequencing of libra

SUBMITTER: Tendu A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10665160 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature