Investigation of caliciviruses and astroviruses in Gabonese rodents: A possible influence of national and international trade on the spread of enteric viruses

• Published in: Infection, Genetics and Evolution
• Main Authors: Mbou-Boutambe, Clark, Mombo, Illich, Manfred, Rougeron, Virginie, Degrugillier, Fanny, Gauthier, Philippe, Makanga, Boris, Ngoubangoye, Barthélémy, Leroy, Eric, M., Prugnolle, Franck, Boundenga, Larson
• Other Authors: Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF), Ecole Doctorale Régionale en Infectiologie Tropicale d’Afrique Centrale, Maladies infectieuses et vecteurs : écologie, génétique, évolution et contrôle (MIVEGEC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Université de Montpellier (UM), Reconciling Ecological and Human Adaptations for Biosphere Sustainability (REHABS), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Nelson Mandela University Port Elizabeth, Sustainability Research Unit, Nelson Mandela University Port Elizabeth, Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (UMR CBGP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro Montpellier, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Université de Montpellier (UM), Centre national de la recherche scientifique et technologique (CENAREST), Durham University, This study has been funded by ANR MICETRAL (Project number ANR-19-35CE-0010) and Word Organization for animal Health (WOHA) through the European Union (Capacity building and surveillance for Ebola Virus Disease, EBO-SURSY: FOOD/2016/379-660). We thank the Gabonese Government and the National Research Agency (NRA) for their financial support., ANR-19-CE35-0010,MICETRAL,Souris envahissantes et malaria de rongeur: analyse d'un saut d'hôte naturel impliquant deux modèles de laboratoire très étudiés(2019)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2024
• Subjects: Astrovirus; Calicivirus; Rodent; Rural areas; Zoonoses; Gabon; [SDV.MP.VIR]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Virology; [SDV.MHEP.MI]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Human health and pathology/Infectious diseases; Rattus rattus
• Online Access: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04605931; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04605931/document; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04605931/file/1-s2.0-S1567134824000583-main.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2024.105607

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author. The partial genome/coding sequences of study viruses can be found in the National Center for Biotechnology Information Database/ GenBank under the accession numbers PP516503 to PP516520. Access to the fasta files can be provided upon request. International audience Highlights: • All Rodent were tested negative for caliciviruses. • Rattus rattus is the only species infected by astroviruses. • No rodents were infected with human astroviruses. • Transportation such as land and railway, as well national and international trade, are likely to facilitate spread of enteric viruses by the dissemination of rodents.Abstract: Caliciviruses (Caliciviridae) and astroviruses (Astroviridae) are among the leading cause of non-bacterial foodborne disease and gastroenteritis in human. These non-enveloped RNA viruses infect a wide range of vertebrate species including rodents. Rodents are among the most important hosts of infectious diseases globally and are responsible for over 80 zoonotic pathogens that affect humans. Therefore, screening pathogens in rodents will be is necessary to prevent cross-species transmission to prevent zoonotic outbreaks. In the present study, we screened caliciviruses and astroviruses in order to describe their diversity and whether they harbor strains that can infect humans. RNA was then extracted from intestine samples of 245 rodents and retrotranscribed in cDNA to screen caliciviruses and astroviruses by PCRs. All the samples tested negative for caliciviruses and while astroviruses were detected in 18 (7.3%) samples of Rattus rattus species. Phylogenetic analyses based on the RdRp gene showed that all the sequences belonged to Mamastrovirus genus in which they were genetically related to R. rattus related AstVs previously detected in Gabon or in Rattus spp. AstV from Kenya and Asia. These findings suggested that transportation such as land and railway, as ...