Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China.
Animal Science College, Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry University, Nyingchi, Tibet, China.
Commun Biol. 2024 Sep 6;7(1):1097. doi: 10.1038/s42003-024-06798-y.
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), renowned for its exceptional biological diversity, is home to numerous endemic species. However, research on the virology of vulnerable vertebrates like yaks remains limited. In this study, our objective was to use metagenomics to provide a comprehensive understanding of the diversity and evolution of the gut virome in yak populations across different regions of the QTP. Our findings revealed a remarkably diverse array of viruses in the gut of yaks, including those associated with vertebrates and bacteriophages. Notably, some vertebrate-associated viruses, such as astrovirus and picornavirus, showed significant sequence identity across diverse yak populations. Additionally, we observed differences in the functional profiles of genes carried by the yak gut virome across different regions. Moreover, the virus-bacterium symbiotic network that we discovered holds potential significance in maintaining the health of yaks. Overall, this research expands our understanding of the viral communities in the gut of yaks and highlights the importance of further investigating the interactions between viruses and their hosts. These data will be beneficial for revealing the crucial role that viruses play in the yak gut ecology in future studies.
青藏高原（QTP）以其独特的生物多样性而闻名，是许多特有物种的家园。然而，对脆弱的脊椎动物（如牦牛）的病毒学研究仍然有限。在这项研究中，我们的目的是使用宏基因组学来全面了解 QTP 不同地区牦牛群体的肠道病毒组的多样性和进化。我们的研究结果揭示了牦牛肠道中存在着极其多样的病毒，包括与脊椎动物和噬菌体相关的病毒。值得注意的是，一些与脊椎动物相关的病毒，如星状病毒和小核糖核酸病毒，在不同的牦牛群体中显示出显著的序列同一性。此外，我们还观察到不同地区牦牛肠道病毒组携带的基因功能谱存在差异。此外，我们发现的病毒-细菌共生网络在维持牦牛健康方面具有潜在意义。总的来说，这项研究扩展了我们对牦牛肠道病毒群落的理解，并强调了进一步研究病毒与其宿主之间相互作用的重要性。这些数据将有助于揭示病毒在未来研究中在牦牛肠道生态系统中所起的关键作用。
