亚洲象粪便病毒宏基因组学研究:病毒群落组成及保护意义OA

[Objective]This study aims to investigate the fecal virus metagenome of captive and wild Asian elephants in Yunnan,so as to provide a theoretical foundation for the conservation of this endangered species.[Method]Fresh fecal samples from captive breastfed young elephants,captive adult elephants,and wild adult elephants were collected.The metagenomic sequencing and virus metagenomics analysis methods were used to comprehensively understand the landscape structure of the Asian elephant fecal DNA virus community.[Result]The results revealed that Myoviridae emerged as the most prevalent virus family in the fecal matter of calves,whereas Siphoviridae dominated in the adult elephants.Wild adults exhibited clearly higher Podoviridae abundance than captive adults.At the species level,Synechococcus phage S-CRM01 and Erwinia phage Ea35-70 were dominant in calves,whereas uncultured Mediterranean phage uvMED was most prevalent in adults.Wild adults showed notably higher abundance of EBPR podovirus 3 than captive adults.Furthermore,this study uncovered the presence of herpesvirus in the fecal samples of the calves,having the possible association of this virus family with EEHV.[Conclusion]There are significant differences in the composition of fecal viral communities between captive and wild elephants,as well as between calves and adults.This work sheds light on the possible risk of EEHV infection among Asian elephant populations in Yunnan,and suggests the need for proactive conservation strategies and continued surveillance efforts.