Leong Rachel, Hoarau Axel O G, Carcauzon Victoria, Köster Marie, Dietrich Muriel, Tortosa Pablo, Lebarbenchon Camille
UMR Processus Infectieux en Milieu Insulaire Tropical, Université de La Réunion, Inserm, CNRS, IRD, Saint Denis de La Réunion, France.
J Virol. 2025 Feb 25;99(2):e0135724. doi: 10.1128/jvi.01357-24. Epub 2025 Jan 22.
Beyond the role of bats as natural host reservoirs of infectious agents, the impact of viral spillover from other animal species to bats has been neglected. Given the limited virus-host specificity of astroviruses (AstVs) and their propensity for cross-species transmission, we hypothesized that AstVs could be transmitted within animal communities (rodents, birds, and bats) and that native endemic bats may be exposed to viruses hosted by other species. We investigated the presence of AstV RNA in 3,796 biological samples collected in Reunion Island from ( = 3421), an endemic free-tailed bat species, and also from small terrestrial mammals and birds: ( = 146), ( = 74), ( = 36), ( = 99), and ( = 20). We found significant differences in AstV prevalence between species (ranging from 1% ± 1.97% in to 75% ± 18.9% in ) as well as variation of pairwise identity of AstV sequences among host species, with a high diversity in (mean pairwise identity: 53.2% ± 11.2%). Phylogenetic analyses further revealed that AstVs detected in bats did not cluster in a single clade and were genetically related to AstVs found in birds, rodents, pigs, dogs, cats, and reptiles. Our study suggests that bats may be exposed to viruses associated to synanthropic and alien species. Cascade effects of virus spillover toward endemic and endangered bat species need to be fully assessed.IMPORTANCEEpidemiological consequences of cross-species transmission of zoonotic viruses are mostly considered from a health and economic perspective. Virus spillovers resulting from human-introduced species are much less considered, although they may have major consequences on the conservation of endemic and endangered bat species, in particular in an island context. Based on astrovirus detection and sequencing in an endemic bat species and five non-native species on a tropical island, we identified multiple and repeated viral introductions from synanthropic rodents and birds to bats, rather than the opposite. Such findings call for more investigations in these isolated and vulnerable ecosystems to better understand and mitigate the risks associated with pathogen spillovers.
除了蝙蝠作为传染病病原体天然宿主库的作用外,病毒从其他动物物种溢出到蝙蝠的影响一直被忽视。鉴于星状病毒(AstVs)有限的病毒-宿主特异性及其跨物种传播的倾向,我们推测AstVs可能在动物群落(啮齿动物、鸟类和蝙蝠)中传播,并且本地特有的蝙蝠可能接触到其他物种携带的病毒。我们调查了在留尼汪岛收集的3796份生物样本中AstV RNA的存在情况,这些样本来自一种特有的无尾蝙蝠(n = 3421),以及小型陆生哺乳动物和鸟类:黑家鼠(n = 146)、小家鼠(n = 74)、褐家鼠(n = 36)、家鸽(n = 99)和麻雀(n = 20)。我们发现不同物种之间AstV的流行率存在显著差异(从黑家鼠的1% ± 1.97%到小家鼠的75% ± 18.9%),以及宿主物种之间AstV序列的成对同一性存在差异,其中小家鼠的多样性很高(平均成对同一性:53.2% ± 11.2%)。系统发育分析进一步表明,在蝙蝠中检测到的AstVs并没有聚集在一个单一的进化枝中,并且在基因上与在鸟类、啮齿动物、猪、狗、猫和爬行动物中发现的AstVs相关。我们的研究表明,蝙蝠可能接触到与人类共生和外来物种相关的病毒。需要全面评估病毒溢出对特有和濒危蝙蝠物种的级联效应。
重要性
人畜共患病毒跨物种传播的流行病学后果大多从健康和经济角度考虑。虽然人类引入物种导致的病毒溢出可能对特有和濒危蝙蝠物种的保护产生重大影响,特别是在岛屿环境中,但人们对此考虑得要少得多。基于在一个热带岛屿上对一种特有蝙蝠物种和五个非本地物种进行的星状病毒检测和测序,我们确定了从人类共生的啮齿动物和鸟类到蝙蝠的多次且反复的病毒引入,而不是相反的情况。这些发现呼吁在这些孤立且脆弱的生态系统中进行更多调查,以更好地理解和减轻与病原体溢出相关的风险。