PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Wan-Ting He
AU  - Xin Hou
AU  - Jin Zhao
AU  - Jiumeng Sun
AU  - Haijian He
AU  - Wei Si
AU  - Jing Wang
AU  - Zhiwen Jiang
AU  - Ziqing Yan
AU  - Gang Xing
AU  - Meng Lu
AU  - Marc A. Suchard
AU  - Xiang Ji
AU  - Wenjie Gong
AU  - Biao He
AU  - Jun Li
AU  - Philippe Lemey
AU  - Deyin Guo
AU  - Changchun Tu
AU  - Edward C. Holmes
AU  - Mang Shi
AU  - Shuo Su
TI  - Total virome characterizations of game animals in China reveals a spectrum of emerging viral pathogens
AID  - 10.1101/2021.11.10.467646
DP  - 2021 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2021.11.10.467646
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/11/12/2021.11.10.467646.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/11/12/2021.11.10.467646.full
AB  - Game animals are wildlife species often traded and consumed as exotic food, and are potential reservoirs for SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. We performed a meta-transcriptomic analysis of 1725 game animals, representing 16 species and five mammalian orders, sampled across China. From this we identified 71 mammalian viruses, with 45 described for the first time. Eighteen viruses were considered as potentially high risk to humans and domestic animals. Civets (Paguma larvata) carried the highest number of potentially high risk viruses. We identified the transmission of Bat coronavirus HKU8 from a bat to a civet, as well as cross-species jumps of coronaviruses from bats to hedgehogs and from birds to porcupines. We similarly identified avian Influenza A virus H9N2 in civets and Asian badgers, with the latter displaying respiratory symptoms, as well as cases of likely human-to-wildlife virus transmission. These data highlight the importance of game animals as potential drivers of disease emergence.Highlights1725 game animals from five mammalian orders were surveyed for viruses71 mammalian viruses were discovered, 18 with a potential risk to humansCivets harbored the highest number of potential ‘high risk’ virusesA species jump of an alphacoronavirus from bats to a civet was identifiedH9N2 influenza virus was detected in a civet and an Asian badgerHumans viruses were also identified in game animalsCompeting Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.