The Virome of Bats Inhabiting Brazilian Biomes: Knowledge Gaps and Biases towards Zoonotic Viruses
ABSTRACT Bats host a large variety of viruses, including some that may infect other vertebrates and humans. Research on bat-borne viruses attracted significant attention in recent years mainly due to epizootics caused by viruses having bats as hosts. The characterization of the viral communities of...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Society for Microbiology
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Microbiology Spectrum |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.04077-22 |
| _version_ | 1811164343708942336 |
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| author | Gabriel Luz Wallau Eder Barbier Alexandru Tomazatos Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit Enrico Bernard |
| author_facet | Gabriel Luz Wallau Eder Barbier Alexandru Tomazatos Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit Enrico Bernard |
| author_sort | Gabriel Luz Wallau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Bats host a large variety of viruses, including some that may infect other vertebrates and humans. Research on bat-borne viruses attracted significant attention in recent years mainly due to epizootics caused by viruses having bats as hosts. The characterization of the viral communities of bats was then prioritized, but despite increasing efforts, there are large disparities in the geographical ranges covered and the methodologies employed around the world. As a result, large gaps remain in our current understanding of bat viromes and their role in disease emergence. This is particularly true for megadiverse regions in Latin America. This review aims to summarize the current understanding about bat viruses that inhabit Brazilian biomes, one of the most bat species-rich and diverse regions of the globe. Taking into account all known bat-associated viral families studied in Brazilian biomes, we found that almost half of all bat species (86/181 species) were not investigated for viruses at all. Moreover, only a small fraction of viral lineages or families have been studied more in depth, usually employing targeted methods with limited power to characterize a broad virus diversity. Additionally, these studies relied on limited spatiotemporal sampling and small sample sizes. Therefore, our current understanding of bat viral communities in the Brazilian biomes is limited and biased at different levels, limiting zoonotic risk assessments of bat-borne viruses. Considering these limitations, we propose strategies to bridge the existing gaps in the near future. IMPORTANCE Bat-borne viruses have attracted much attention due to zoonotic outbreaks with large consequences to humans. Because of that, virus characterization in bats has been prioritized in tropical regions of the globe. However, bat-virus research in Latin America and particularly in Brazil, which are among the most bat species-rich regions of the world, are highly biased toward zoonotic viruses and known bat reservoir species. These results have direct implication for virus studies in general but also for new zoonotic virus and spillover events characterization. The limited knowledge we currently have about the virome of Brazilian bats drastically limits any broad assessment of zoonotic viruses they carry and calls for coordinated and large-scale studies to fill this crucial knowledge gap. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:20:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0a0c17685be442c3bdc8e119bfa05f60 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2165-0497 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:20:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Microbiology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microbiology Spectrum |
| spelling | doaj.art-0a0c17685be442c3bdc8e119bfa05f602023-02-14T14:15:51ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologyMicrobiology Spectrum2165-04972023-02-0111110.1128/spectrum.04077-22The Virome of Bats Inhabiting Brazilian Biomes: Knowledge Gaps and Biases towards Zoonotic VirusesGabriel Luz Wallau0Eder Barbier1Alexandru Tomazatos2Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit3Enrico Bernard4Departamento de Entomologia and Núcleo de Bioinformática, Instituto Aggeu Magalhães (IAM) - Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Cidade Universitária, Recife, BrazilLaboratório de Ciência Aplicada à Conservação da Biodiversidade, Departamento de Zoologia, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Cidade Universitária, Recife, BrazilDepartment of Arbovirology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, WHO Collaborating Center for Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, National Reference Center for Tropical Infectious Diseases, Hamburg, GermanyDepartment of Arbovirology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, WHO Collaborating Center for Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, National Reference Center for Tropical Infectious Diseases, Hamburg, GermanyLaboratório de Ciência Aplicada à Conservação da Biodiversidade, Departamento de Zoologia, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Cidade Universitária, Recife, BrazilABSTRACT Bats host a large variety of viruses, including some that may infect other vertebrates and humans. Research on bat-borne viruses attracted significant attention in recent years mainly due to epizootics caused by viruses having bats as hosts. The characterization of the viral communities of bats was then prioritized, but despite increasing efforts, there are large disparities in the geographical ranges covered and the methodologies employed around the world. As a result, large gaps remain in our current understanding of bat viromes and their role in disease emergence. This is particularly true for megadiverse regions in Latin America. This review aims to summarize the current understanding about bat viruses that inhabit Brazilian biomes, one of the most bat species-rich and diverse regions of the globe. Taking into account all known bat-associated viral families studied in Brazilian biomes, we found that almost half of all bat species (86/181 species) were not investigated for viruses at all. Moreover, only a small fraction of viral lineages or families have been studied more in depth, usually employing targeted methods with limited power to characterize a broad virus diversity. Additionally, these studies relied on limited spatiotemporal sampling and small sample sizes. Therefore, our current understanding of bat viral communities in the Brazilian biomes is limited and biased at different levels, limiting zoonotic risk assessments of bat-borne viruses. Considering these limitations, we propose strategies to bridge the existing gaps in the near future. IMPORTANCE Bat-borne viruses have attracted much attention due to zoonotic outbreaks with large consequences to humans. Because of that, virus characterization in bats has been prioritized in tropical regions of the globe. However, bat-virus research in Latin America and particularly in Brazil, which are among the most bat species-rich regions of the world, are highly biased toward zoonotic viruses and known bat reservoir species. These results have direct implication for virus studies in general but also for new zoonotic virus and spillover events characterization. The limited knowledge we currently have about the virome of Brazilian bats drastically limits any broad assessment of zoonotic viruses they carry and calls for coordinated and large-scale studies to fill this crucial knowledge gap.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.04077-22RNA virusmicrobiomesurveillance studiesvirus-host interactionszoonotic infections |
| spellingShingle | Gabriel Luz Wallau Eder Barbier Alexandru Tomazatos Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit Enrico Bernard The Virome of Bats Inhabiting Brazilian Biomes: Knowledge Gaps and Biases towards Zoonotic Viruses Microbiology Spectrum RNA virus microbiome surveillance studies virus-host interactions zoonotic infections |
| title | The Virome of Bats Inhabiting Brazilian Biomes: Knowledge Gaps and Biases towards Zoonotic Viruses |
| title_full | The Virome of Bats Inhabiting Brazilian Biomes: Knowledge Gaps and Biases towards Zoonotic Viruses |
| title_fullStr | The Virome of Bats Inhabiting Brazilian Biomes: Knowledge Gaps and Biases towards Zoonotic Viruses |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Virome of Bats Inhabiting Brazilian Biomes: Knowledge Gaps and Biases towards Zoonotic Viruses |
| title_short | The Virome of Bats Inhabiting Brazilian Biomes: Knowledge Gaps and Biases towards Zoonotic Viruses |
| title_sort | virome of bats inhabiting brazilian biomes knowledge gaps and biases towards zoonotic viruses |
| topic | RNA virus microbiome surveillance studies virus-host interactions zoonotic infections |
| url | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.04077-22 |
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