Virome of rodents collected in Xinjiang, China

To understand the viral diversity harbored by rodents in Xinjiang, A total of 314 rodents were sampled from pasture habitats in 5 locations (Jinghe, Alashankou, Yining, Qapqal and Aksu). The sampling comprised 7 species , which were long-tailed ground squirrel (Urocitellus undulates, n=100), great gerbil (Rhombomys opimus, n=46), Libyan jird (Meriones libycus, n=50), brown rat (Rattus norvegicus, n=51), common vole (Microtus arvalis, n=50), house mouse (Mus musculus, n=1), and ural field mouse (Apodemus uralensis, n=16). Partial specimens of each organs (lung and intestine for every rodent) were pooled together according to their sampling locations, and subjected to viral metagenomic analysis as per our published method (He B, Li Z, Yang F, Zheng J, Feng Y, Guo H, Li Y, Wang Y, Su N, Zhang F, Fan Q, Tu C. 2013. Virome profiling of bats from Myanmar by metagenomic analysis of tissue samples reveals more novel Mammalian viruses. PLOS One 8:e61950).