Roev German V, Borisova Nadezhda I, Chistyakova Nadezhda V, Agletdinov Matvey R, Akimkin Vasily G, Khafizov Kamil
Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, 111123 Moscow, Russia.
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, National Research University, 115184 Dolgoprudny, Russia.
Microorganisms. 2023 Oct 10;11(10):2532. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11102532.
Next-generation sequencing technologies have revolutionized the field of virology by enabling the reading of complete viral genomes, extensive metagenomic studies, and the identification of novel viral pathogens. Although metagenomic sequencing has the advantage of not requiring specific probes or primers, it faces significant challenges in analyzing data and identifying novel viruses. Traditional bioinformatics tools for sequence identification mainly depend on homology-based strategies, which may not allow the detection of a virus significantly different from known variants due to the extensive genetic diversity and rapid evolution of viruses. In this work, we performed metagenomic analysis of bat feces from different Russian cities and identified a wide range of viral pathogens. We then selected sequences with minimal homology to a known picornavirus and used "Switching Mechanism at the 5' end of RNA Template" technology to obtain a longer genome fragment, allowing for more reliable identification. This study emphasizes the importance of integrating advanced computational methods with experimental strategies for identifying unknown viruses to better understand the viral universe.
下一代测序技术通过能够读取完整的病毒基因组、进行广泛的宏基因组研究以及鉴定新型病毒病原体，彻底改变了病毒学领域。尽管宏基因组测序具有无需特定探针或引物的优势，但在数据分析和鉴定新型病毒方面面临重大挑战。传统的用于序列鉴定的生物信息学工具主要依赖基于同源性的策略，由于病毒广泛的遗传多样性和快速进化，这种策略可能无法检测到与已知变体有显著差异的病毒。在这项工作中，我们对来自俄罗斯不同城市的蝙蝠粪便进行了宏基因组分析，并鉴定出了多种病毒病原体。然后，我们选择了与已知微小核糖核酸病毒同源性最低的序列，并使用“RNA模板5'端切换机制”技术获得了更长的基因组片段，从而实现更可靠的鉴定。这项研究强调了将先进的计算方法与实验策略相结合以鉴定未知病毒的重要性，以便更好地了解病毒世界。
