Viral metagenomic analysis reveals diverse viruses and a novel bocaparvovirus in the enteric virome of snow leopard (Panthera uncia)

Kingsley Ikechukwu Chukwudozie; Haoning Wang; Xiaolong Wang; Chunying Lu; Jiaxin Xue; Wen Zhang; Tongling Shan

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29799

Viral metagenomic analysis reveals diverse viruses and a novel bocaparvovirus in the enteric virome of snow leopard (Panthera uncia)

Heliyon. 2024 Apr 16;10(8):e29799. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29799. eCollection 2024 Apr 30.

Authors

Kingsley Ikechukwu Chukwudozie^{1

2}, Haoning Wang^{3

4}, Xiaolong Wang⁵, Chunying Lu¹, Jiaxin Xue¹, Wen Zhang¹, Tongling Shan⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang. Zip code: 212300, PR China.
² Department of Microbiology, University of Nigeria, Zip code: 410001, PR China.
³ Heilongjiang cold Region Wetland Ecology and Environment Research key laboratory, school of geography and tourism, Harbin university, 109 zhongxing Road, Harbin, 150086, Heilongjiang province, PR China.
⁴ School of Geography and Tourism, Harbin University, Harbin 150086, Heilongjiang province, PR China.
⁵ The Key Laboratory of Wildlife Diseases and Biosecurity Management of Heilongjiang Province. Zip code: 154100, PR China.
⁶ Department of Swine Infectious Disease, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, PR China.

Abstract

The enteric virome, comprising a complex community of viruses inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract, plays a significant role in health and disease dynamics. In this study, the fecal sample of a wild snow leopard was subjected to viral metagenomic analysis using a double barcode Illumina MiSeq platform. The resulting reads were de novo assembled into contigs with SOAPdenovo2 version r240. Additional bioinformatic analysis of the assembled genome and genome annotation was done using the Geneious prime software (version 2022.0.2). Following viral metagenomic analysis and bioinformatic analysis, a total of 7 viral families and a novel specie of bocaparvovirus tentatively named Panthera uncia bocaparvovirus (PuBOV) with GenBank accession number OQ627713 were identified. The complete genome of PuBOV was predicted to contain 3 open reading frames (ORFs), contains 5433 nucleotides and has a G + C content of 47.40 %. BLASTx analysis and pairwise sequence comparison indicated the novel virus genome was a new species in the genus Bocaparvovirus based on the species demarcation criteria of the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses. This study provides valuable insights into the diversity and composition of the enteric virome in wild endangered snow leopards. The identification and characterization of viruses in wildlife is crucial for developing effective strategies to manage and mitigate potential zoonotic and other viral disease threats to human and animal health.

Keywords: Bocarparvovirus; Metagenomics; Snow leopard; Virome; Viruses.