Virus_Discovery

Zoonoses caused by previously unknown aetiological agents represent a significant fraction of the global challenge posed by emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). Nearly 80% of zoonotic EIDs are estimated to originate from wildlife, and the overall contribution of wildlife pathogens to human EID events is increasing. For example, hantaviruses, henipaviruses, SARS-like coronaviruses and filoviruses are wildlife-origin zoonotic viruses discovered during the past 50 years. South and East Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and tropical Africa constitute areas of increased relative risk for zoonotic emergence from wildlife. Viral agents are estimated to account for 25 – 44% of all EIDs and previous studies have shown them to be the class of pathogen most likely to emerge. Characterising the total viral populations (viromes) of candidate reservoir species in high-risk geographical areas is a logical initial step toward emergence prevention. Metagenomic methods enable such a comprehensive viral characterisation by sequencing nucleic acids directly from biological samples. Next generation sequencing technologies (NGS) produce vast amounts of data from small amounts of starting material at a relatively low cost, making these technologies a viable option for large-scale screening of metagenomic samples from wildlife reservoirs. Sequence information derived from these studies can then aid the selection of candidate pathogens for further empirical investigation of their zoonotic potential using more traditional virological and epidemiological methods. Bats represent a natural choice for metaviromic investigations since they have been identified as the primary reservoirs for a series of recently-emerged zoonotic viruses which cause high case fatality rates, such as henipaviruses, filoviruses and some lyssaviruses. In this project we are applying a metagenomics approach based on NGS to characterise the virome of different bat populations.