First Detection of an Alphaherpesvirus Gene in Humpback Whale Blow Samples Collected Noninvasively Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

ABSTRACT: Viral infections have a significant impact on wildlife health, population dynamics, and ecosystem stability. Studies of cetaceans-key species in marine ecosystems-are challenging for viral infection research, owing to difficulties in collecting conventional biological samples. In this study, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were used in 2024 to noninvasively sample exhaled breath condensates (blows) from five groups of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) along the coastline of an island in the Pacific Ocean south of Japan. Comprehensive virome analysis revealed viral sequences related to 39 known virus species across 18 families, including nine that infect mammals. Notably, partial sequences of the UL20 gene similar to an alphaherpesvirus previously identified in beluga w

SUBMITTER: Sekine W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12656974 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature