Data from: An eco-epidemiological study of Morbilli-related paramyxovirus infection in Madagascar bats reveals host-switching as the dominant macro-evolutionary mechanism

An eco-epidemiological investigation was carried out on Madagascar bat communities to better understand the evolutionary mechanisms and environmental factors that affect virus transmission among bat species in closely related members of the genus Morbillivirus, currently referred to as Unclassified Morbilli-related paramyxoviruses (UMRVs). A total of 947 bats were investigated originating from 52 capture sites (22 caves, 18 buildings, and 12 outdoor sites) distributed over different bioclimatic zones of the island. Using RT-PCR targeting the L-polymerase gene of the Paramyxoviridae family, we found that 10.5% of sampled bats were infected, representing six out of seven families and 15 out of 31 species analyzed. Univariate analysis indicates that both abiotic and biotic factors may promote viral infection. Using generalized linear modeling of UMRV infection overlaid on biotic and abiotic variables, we demonstrate that sympatric occurrence of bats is a major factor for virus transmission. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that all paramyxoviruses infecting Malagasy bats are UMRVs and showed little host specificity. Analyses using the maximum parsimony reconciliation tool CoRe-PA, indicate that host-switching, rather than co-speciation, is the dominant macro-evolutionary mechanism of UMRVs among Malagasy bats.本研究针对马达加斯加蝙蝠群落开展了一项生态流行病学调查，旨在深入解析影响麻疹病毒属（Morbillivirus）近缘类群——当前被归类为未分类麻疹相关副粘病毒（UMRVs）——的病毒在不同蝙蝠物种间传播的进化机制与环境因素。本次调查共纳入947只蝙蝠，其捕获位点共计52处（含22处洞穴、18处建筑及12处户外场所），分布于该岛的不同生物气候区。通过靶向副粘病毒科（Paramyxoviridae）L聚合酶基因的逆转录聚合酶链式反应（RT-PCR）检测，我们发现10.5%的采样蝙蝠呈感染阳性，覆盖了本次分析的7个科中的6个科、31个物种中的15个物种。单变量分析结果显示，非生物与生物因素均可促进病毒感染。通过对UMRV感染情况与生物、非生物变量构建广义线性模型，我们证实蝙蝠的同域分布是病毒传播的关键影响因素。系统发育分析显示，所有感染马达加斯加蝙蝠的副粘病毒均属于UMRVs，且几乎无宿主特异性。借助最大简约法重组工具CoRe-PA开展的分析表明，宿主切换而非协同物种形成，是马达加斯加蝙蝠相关UMRVs的主要宏观进化机制。