Previous studies have identified multiple viruses in dead or severely diseased pangolins, but descriptions of the virome in healthy pangolins are lacking. This poses a greater risk of cross-species transmission due to poor preventive awareness and frequent interactions with breeders. In this study, we investigated the viral composition of 34 pangolins with no signs of disease at the time of sampling and characterized a large number of arthropod-associated viruses belonging to 11 families and vertebrate viruses belonging to eight families, including those with pathogenic potential in humans and animals. Several important vertebrate viruses were identified in the pangolins, including parvovirus, pestivirus, and picobirnavirus. The picobirnavirus was clustered with human and grey teal picobirnaviruses. Viruses with cross-species transmission ability were also identified, including circovirus, rotavirus, and astrovirus. Our study revealed that pangolins are frequently exposed to arthropod-associated viruses in the wild and can carry many vertebrate viruses under natural conditions. This study provides important insights into the virome of pangolins, underscoring the importance of monitoring potential pathogens in healthy pangolins to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases in domesticated animals and humans.
先前的研究已经从死亡或严重患病的穿山甲中发现了大量病毒，但对健康穿山甲的病毒组的研究较少。而且由于缺乏健康动物携带病原体的防范意识，并且野生动物与饲养员频繁接触，正常野生动物携带的病毒存在更高的跨物种传播风险。在该研究中，我们调查了34只穿山甲的病毒组成，它们在被取样时没有疾病迹象，并对属于11个科的大量节肢动物相关病毒和属于8个科的各种脊椎动物病毒进行了鉴定，包括一些已知的对人类和动物有致病潜力的病毒。一些重要的脊椎动物病毒已在穿山甲中被发现，包括parvovirus（细小病毒），pestivirus（瘟疫病毒），和picobirnavirus（小双节RNA病毒）。其中我们发现的picobirnavirus与感染人类和灰鸭的picobirnavirus病毒聚集。我们还发现了许多具有跨物种传播潜力的病毒，包括circovirus（圆环病毒）、rotavirus（轮状病毒）和astrovirus（星状病毒）等。我们的研究表明，穿山甲在野外经常接触到节肢动物相关的病毒，并且在自然条件下可以携带许多感染脊椎动物的病毒。该研究提供了对穿山甲病毒组的重要见解，强调了监测健康穿山甲中潜在病原体的重要性，以防止在驯养动物和人类中爆发传染病。.
Keywords: Arthropod-associated viruses; Cross-species transmission; Pangolin; Virome; Zoonoses.