Table_5_Analysis of the diversity of tick-borne viruses at the border areas in Liaoning Province, China.xlsx

Ticks play a significant role in transmitting arboviruses, which pose a risk to human and animal health. The region of Liaoning Province, China, with abundant plant resources with multiple tick populations, has reported several tick-borne diseases. However, there remains a scarcity of research on the composition and evolution of the tick virome. In this study, we conducted the metagenomic analysis of 561 ticks in the border area of Liaoning Province in China and identified viruses related to known diseases in humans and animals, including severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) and nairobi sheep disease virus (NSDV). Moreover, the groups of tick viruses were also closely related to the families of Flaviviridae, Parvoviridae, Phenuiviridae, and Rhabdoviridae. Notably, the Dabieshan tick virus (DBTV) of the family Phenuiviridae was prevalent in these ticks, with the minimum infection rate (MIR) of 9.09%, higher than previously reported in numerous provinces in China. In addition, sequences of tick-borne viruses of the family Rhabdoviridae have first been reported from the border area of Liaoning Province, China, after being described from Hubei Province, China. This research furthered the insight into pathogens carried by ticks in the northeastern border areas of China, offering epidemiological information for possible forthcoming outbreaks of infectious diseases. Meanwhile, we provided an essential reference for assessing the risk of tick bite infection in humans and animals, as well as for exploring into the evolution of the virus and the mechanisms of species transmission.

蜱虫在传播蜱媒病毒中扮演着举足轻重的角色，这些病毒对人类和动物健康构成潜在威胁。位于中国辽宁省，该地区植物资源丰富，蜱虫种类繁多，已报告了多起蜱媒疾病。然而，关于蜱虫病毒组组成与演化的研究仍显不足。在本研究中，我们对中国辽宁省边境地区的561只蜱虫进行了宏基因组分析，并鉴定出与人类和动物已知疾病相关的病毒，包括严重发热伴血小板减少综合征病毒（SFTSV）和内罗毕羊病病毒（NSDV）。此外，蜱虫病毒群与黄病毒科、细小病毒科、新诺病毒科和弹状病毒科等家族密切相关。值得注意的是，属于新诺病毒科的达贝山蜱虫病毒（DBTV）在这些蜱虫中广泛存在，最低感染率（MIR）为9.09%，高于中国众多省份先前报道的数值。此外，从湖北省描述的弹状病毒科蜱媒病毒序列首次在中国辽宁省边境地区被报道。此项研究进一步深化了对中国东北地区边境地带蜱虫携带病原体的认识，为可能发生的传染病爆发提供了流行病学信息。同时，本研究为评估人类和动物蜱虫叮咬感染风险提供了重要参考，并为病毒进化以及物种传播机制的研究提供了深入洞察。