Host-anellovirus interactions in an island ecosystem: non-human primates and rodents in Madagascar harbour diverse, rich anellovirus populations.
| Title: | Host-anellovirus interactions in an island ecosystem: non-human primates and rodents in Madagascar harbour diverse, rich anellovirus populations. |
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| Authors: | Paietta EN; The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.; Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.; Johnston RA; Zoo New England, Boston, MA 02121, USA.; Randrianarisoa SF; Mahaliana Labs SARL, Amboditsiry, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar.; DeSisto CMM; Rice Sustainability Institute, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA.; Kraberger S; The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.; Martin D; Computational Biology Division, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Western Cape, South Africa.; Razanamahenina TT; Department of Zoology and Animal Biology, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar.; Ramboninarimalala A; Department of Zoology and Animal Biology, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar.; Velontsara JB; Centre ValBio, Ranomafana, Madagascar.; Raherinirina TG; Centre ValBio, Ranomafana, Madagascar.; Rasendrinirina V; Centre ValBio, Ranomafana, Madagascar.; Raveloson L; Health In Harmony-Fahasalamana Mirindra, Farafangana, Madagascar.; Luo Y; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA.; Department of Cell Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA.; University Program in Genetics and Genomics, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA.; Finley NL; Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.; Health In Harmony-Fahasalamana Mirindra, Farafangana, Madagascar.; Baitchman E; Zoo New England, Boston, MA 02121, USA.; Yoder AD; Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.; Varsani A; The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.; Structural Biology Research Unit, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa. |
| Source: | Microbial genomics [Microb Genom] 2026 Apr; Vol. 12 (4). |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Microbiology Society Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101671820 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2057-5858 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 20575858 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Microb Genom Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Oct. 2015- : [London] : Microbiology Society; Original Publication: [London] : Society for General Microbiology, [2015]- |
| MeSH Terms: | Anelloviridae*/genetics ; Anelloviridae*/classification ; Anelloviridae*/isolation & purification ; Rodentia*/virology ; Primates*/virology ; Host-Pathogen Interactions*; Lemur/virology ; Animals ; Madagascar ; Phylogeny ; Genome, Viral ; Ecosystem ; Islands ; Rats |
| Abstract: | Anelloviruses are circular, negative-sense single-stranded DNA viruses that have remarkable diversity and ubiquity across mammals. However, few studies have attempted to determine anellovirus diversity and dynamics across a biodiverse landscape. Madagascar offers a unique opportunity to study anellovirus diversity, with speciose, endemic mammalian lineages that have evolved in geographic isolation for millions of years. These endemic animals frequently interact with more recently introduced populations of non-native small mammals. From oral swab samples taken from natural populations of lemurs, rodents and shrews in the Manombo Special Reserve and surrounding area in southeastern Madagascar, we determined the complete genomes of anelloviruses from black rats (n=647 genomes), Webb's tufted-tailed rats (n=2), mouse lemurs (n=4), a woolly lemur (n=1) and a house shrew (n=3). We observed distinct anellovirus lineages in the endemic lemurs and tufted-tailed rats, which we infer to be the result of their long-term geographic isolation in Madagascar. Lemur-infecting anelloviruses, in particular, do not cluster with other primate-infecting anelloviruses. In contrast, anellovirus diversity in widespread, non-native rodents (i.e. black rats) was similar to that of closely related, globally dispersed rodent species, concordant with their later introduction to Madagascar. With our large anellovirus dataset from black rats, we examined anellovirus alpha- and beta-diversity and viral co-occurrence networks. Black rat anellovirus populations showed high intra-individual variation, but the overall pool of circulating anelloviruses was consistent across age classes and sexes. Adult relative to juvenile/subadult black rats harboured richer anellovirus populations and were more connected within the co-occurrence network. Proximity between individuals and greater intra-individual viral diversity were also linked to more virus-sharing between black rats. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Anelloviridae; Webb’s tufted-tailed rat; black rat; house shrew; mouse lemur; woolly lemur |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260409 Date Completed: 20260621 Latest Revision: 20260621 |
| Update Code: | 20260704 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13065334 |
| DOI: | 10.1099/mgen.0.001681 |
| PMID: | 41954992 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
Journal Article