Meta-transcriptomic analysis of companion animal infectomes reveals their diversity and potential roles in animal and human disease

作者：Wei-Chen Wu, Yuanfei Pan, Wu-Di Zhou, Yu-Qi Liao, Minwu Peng, Geng-Yan Luo, Gen-Yang Xin, Yani Peng, Tongqing An, Bo Li, Huanle Luo, Vanessa R. Barrs, Julia A. Beatty, Edward C. Holmes, Wenjing Zhao, Mǎng Shī, Yuelong Shu · 发表于：mSphere · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1128/msphere.00439-24 · 被引用次数：9 · 研究领域：Animal Virus Infections Studies、Respiratory viral infections research、Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiology

Companion animals such as cats and dogs harbor diverse microbial communities that can potentially impact human health due to close and frequent contact. To better characterize their total infectomes and assess zoonotic risks, we characterized the overall infectomes of companion animals (cats and dogs) and evaluated their potential zoonotic risks. Meta-transcriptomic analyses were performed on 239 samples from cats and dogs collected across China, identifying 24 viral species, 270 bacterial genera, and two fungal genera. Differences in the overall microbiome and infectome composition were compared across different animal species (cats or dogs), sampling sites (rectal or oropharyngeal), and health status (healthy or diseased). Diversity analyses revealed that viral abundance was generally higher in diseased animals compared to healthy ones, while differences in microbial composition were mainly driven by sampling site, followed by animal species and health status. Disease association analyses validated the pathogenicity of known pathogens and suggested potential pathogenic roles of previously undescribed bacteria and newly discovered viruses. Cross-species transmission analyses identified seven pathogens shared between cats and dogs, such as alphacoronavirus 1, which was detected in both oropharyngeal and rectal swabs albeit with differential pathogenicity. Further analyses showed that some viruses, like alphacoronavirus 1, harbored multiple lineages exhibiting distinct pathoge...