Detection, characterization, and phylogenetic analysis of novel astroviruses from endemic Malagasy fruit bats.

ABSTRACT: Bats (order: Chiroptera) are known to host a diverse range of viruses, some of which present a human public health risk. Thorough viral surveillance is therefore essential to predict and potentially mitigate zoonotic spillover. Astroviruses (family: Astroviridae) are an understudied group of viruses with a growing amount of indirect evidence for zoonotic transfer. Astroviruses have been detected in bats with significant prevalence and diversity, suggesting that bats may act as important astrovirus hosts. Most astrovirus surveillance in wild bat hosts has, to date, been restricted to single-gene PCR detection and concomitant Sanger sequencing; additionally, many bat species and many geographic regions have not yet been surveyed for astroviruses at all. Here, we use metagenomic Next Generati

SUBMITTER: Horigan S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11344347 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature