Virome characteristics of small mammals and their associated environments in pastoral areas on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

ABSTRACT: The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), known for its rich biodiversity and unique ecological niche, harbors numerous endemic species and serves as a reservoir for both established human pathogens and numerous poorly characterized pathogens. Despite certain advances, virological research on small mammals in this region is still limited. In this study, we investigated the diversity and evolution of viral communities in plateau voles, plateau pikas, and their associated environmental samples collected near pastoral settlements on the QTP. Our findings revealed 291,165 species-level viral operational taxonomic units, highlighting a diverse array of bacteriophages. In addition, we further characterized 774 novel eukaryotic viral genomes, primarily classified into 22 established viral families. Among

SUBMITTER: Lu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12371082 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature