Enveloped viruses show increased propensity to cross-species transmission and zoonosis.

ABSTRACT: The transmission of viruses between different host species is a major source of emerging diseases and is of particular concern in the case of zoonotic transmission from mammals to humans. Several zoonosis risk factors have been identified, but it is currently unclear which viral traits primarily determine this process as previous work has focused on a few hundred viruses that are not representative of actual viral diversity. Here, we investigate fundamental virological traits that influence cross-species transmissibility and zoonotic propensity by interrogating a database of over 12,000 mammalian virus-host associations. Our analysis reveals that enveloped viruses tend to infect more host species and are more likely to be zoonotic than nonenveloped viruses, while other viral traits such as

SUBMITTER: Valero-Rello A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9897429 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature