The global network of domestic mammal hosts and zoonotic bacteria: Implications for disease transmission and detection

Zoonotic diseases, defined as those transmitted from animals to humans, represent over 75% of emerging infectious diseases and pose ongoing challenges to public health. Understanding the structure of host–pathogen interactions is critical for anticipating and mitigating such threats. In this study, we analysed the global bipartite network formed by zoonotic bacteria and their domestic mammal hosts. A bipartite network links two distinct sets of nodes—in this case, bacteria and hosts—through documented interactions. We aimed to (1) describe the structure of this host–bacteria (H–B) network using ecological network metrics, and (2) assess whether host traits, namely time since domestication and phylogenetic proximity to humans, predict the number of associated zoonotic bacteria per host species. The network, built from literature-based associations involving 24 domestic mammals and 51 zoonotic bacteria, exhibited high nestedness (a pattern where specialist bacteria infect subsets of hosts..., , , # The global network of domestic mammal hosts and zoonotic bacteria: Implications for disease transmission and detection

**María del Rosario Belén Pacheco & Mariano Devoto**

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.ghx3ffbzd](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ghx3ffbzd)

## Description of the data and file structure

This dataset was assembled to analyse the global bipartite network formed by zoonotic bacteria and their domestic mammal hosts. It compiles documented interactions between 24 domestic mammal species and 51 zoonotic bacterial species, drawn from published reviews and literature spanning 2002–2022, as well as classic compendia. The aim was to describe the structure of the host–bacteria network (nestedness, modularity, connectance) and to test whether domestication history and phylogenetic proximity to humans predict bacterial richness per host.

## Files and variables

The dataset includes four files:

### 1. `zoo_bac_dom2.csv`

Contains the host–bacteria interaction data in **long (edge-li...,