Table_3_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.

蜱虫在传播人畜共患病方面扮演着至关重要的角色，此类疾病对人类和动物健康构成威胁。我国辽宁省，拥有丰富的植物资源及多种蜱虫种群，已报告多起蜱传疾病。然而，关于蜱虫病毒群组成及演化的研究却相对匮乏。在本研究中，我们对位于我国辽宁省边境地区的561只蜱虫进行了宏基因组分析，并鉴定出与人类及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）和纳罗比羊病病毒（NSDV）。此外，蜱虫病毒组与黄病毒科、细小病毒科、黄病毒科和弹状病毒科的家族密切相关。值得注意的是，黄病毒科中的大别山蜱病毒（DBTV）在这些蜱虫中普遍存在，其最低感染率（MIR）高达9.09%，高于我国众多省份的先前报道。此外，来自我国辽宁省边境地区的弹状病毒科蜱传病毒序列首次被报道，此前此类病毒已从我国湖北省描述。本研究进一步深化了对我国东北边境地区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、探究病毒演化和物种传播机制提供了重要参考。