Zhang Huanyan, Fu Yutong, Cao Cheng, Jiang Heping, Tang Ran, Dai Ziyuan, Zhang Wen
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Jintan Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Changzhou, 213251, Jiangsu, China.
Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China.
Virol J. 2025 Jun 30;22(1):211. doi: 10.1186/s12985-025-02742-6.
CRESS-DNA viruses are small, circular, single-stranded DNA viruses that have been identified in diverse environments and hosts, including vertebrates, invertebrates, and environmental samples. However, their diversity and role in the human respiratory tract remain poorly understood. In this study, we employed viral metagenomics to analyze 140 nasopharyngeal swab samples from asymptomatic individuals. High-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analyses were used to identify and characterize novel CRESS-DNA viruses. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred based on Rep protein sequences using maximum likelihood analysis. We identified and characterized eight novel CRESS-DNA viruses, which were classified into the families Endolinaviridae and Naryaviridae, with one potentially representing a novel viral family. These viruses exhibited typical circular genomic structures encoding Rep and Cap proteins, with conserved motifs associated with rolling circle replication. Phylogenetic analysis showed that some viruses were closely related to sequences from vertebrate hosts or environmental samples, suggesting a diverse ecological distribution. Our findings expand the known diversity of CRESS-DNA viruses in the human respiratory tract and highlight their potential ecological and evolutionary significance. Further studies are needed to explore their host specificity, replication mechanisms, and potential roles in human health and disease.
CRESS-DNA病毒是小型环状单链DNA病毒，已在包括脊椎动物、无脊椎动物和环境样本在内的多种环境和宿主中被鉴定出来。然而，它们在人类呼吸道中的多样性和作用仍知之甚少。在本研究中，我们采用病毒宏基因组学方法分析了140份来自无症状个体的鼻咽拭子样本。利用高通量测序和生物信息学分析来鉴定和表征新型CRESS-DNA病毒。基于Rep蛋白序列，使用最大似然分析推断系统发育关系。我们鉴定并表征了8种新型CRESS-DNA病毒，它们被归类为Endolinaviridae科和Naryaviridae科，其中一种可能代表一个新的病毒科。这些病毒呈现出典型的环状基因组结构，编码Rep和Cap蛋白，并具有与滚环复制相关的保守基序。系统发育分析表明，一些病毒与来自脊椎动物宿主或环境样本的序列密切相关，这表明它们具有多样的生态分布。我们的研究结果扩展了人类呼吸道中已知的CRESS-DNA病毒多样性，并突出了它们潜在的生态和进化意义。需要进一步研究来探索它们的宿主特异性、复制机制以及在人类健康和疾病中的潜在作用。
