title: Bats are a major natural reservoir for hepaciviruses and pegiviruses.
abstract: Although there are over 1,150 bat species worldwide, the diversity of viruses harbored by bats has only recently come into focus as a result of expanded wildlife surveillance. Such surveys are of importance in determining the potential for novel viruses to emerge in humans, and for optimal management of bats and their habitats. To enhance our knowledge of the viral diversity present in bats, we initially surveyed 415 sera from African and Central American bats. Unbiased high-throughput sequencing revealed the presence of a highly diverse group of bat-derived viruses related to hepaciviruses and pegiviruses within the family Flaviridae. Subsequent PCR screening of 1,258 bat specimens collected worldwide indicated the presence of these viruses also in North America and Asia. A total of 83 bat-derived viruses were identified, representing an infection rate of nearly 5%. Evolutionary analyses revealed that all known hepaciviruses and pegiviruses, including those previously documented in humans and other primates, fall within the phylogenetic diversity of the bat-derived viruses described here. The prevalence, unprecedented viral biodiversity, phylogenetic divergence, and worldwide distribution of the bat-derived viruses suggest that bats are a major and ancient natural reservoir for both hepaciviruses and pegiviruses and provide insights into the evolutionary history of hepatitis C virus and the human GB viruses.
authors.affiliation: Center for Infection and Immunity, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. pq2106@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Phenix-Lan
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Quan
authors.forename: Cadhla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Firth
authors.forename: Juliette M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Conte
authors.forename: Simon H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Carlos M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Zambrana-Torrelio
authors.forename: Simon J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Anthony
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ellison
authors.forename: Amy T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: Ivan V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Kuzmin
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niezgoda
authors.forename: Modupe O V
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Osinubi
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Recuenco
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Markotter
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Breiman
authors.forename: Lems
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kalemba
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Malekani
authors.forename: Kim A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Lindblade
authors.forename: Melinda K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Rostal
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ojeda-Flores
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Suzan
authors.forename: Lora B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Dianna M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Blau
authors.forename: Albert B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Ogunkoya
authors.forename: Danilo A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Alvarez Castillo
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moran
authors.forename: Sali
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ngam
authors.forename: Dudu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Akaibe
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Agwanda
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Briese
authors.forename: Jonathan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Daszak
authors.forename: Charles E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Rupprecht
authors.forename: Edward C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: W Ian
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: Lipkin
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000821:virology*; D003062:Codon; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D018067:Flaviviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016679:Genome, Viral; D005843:Geography; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D003062:Codon