The virome of the white-winged vampire bat Diaemus youngi is rich in circular DNA viruses

In the Neotropical region, the white-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi) is the rarest of the three species of vampire bats. This bat species feeds preferentially on bird blood, and there is limited information on the viruses infecting D. youngi. Hence, this study aimed to expand the knowledge about the viral diversity associated with D. youngi by sampling and pooling the lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, and intestines of all animals using high-throughput sequencing (HTS) on the Illumina MiSeq platform. A total of three complete and 10 nearly complete circular virus genomes were closely related to gemykrogvirus (Genomoviridae family), smacovirus (Smacoviridae family), and torque teno viruses (TTVs) (Anelloviridae family). In addition, three sequences of bat paramyxovirus were detected and found to be closely related to viruses reported in Pomona roundleaf bats and rodents. The present study provides a snapshot of the viral diversity associated with white-winged vampire bats and provides a baseline for comparison to viruses detected in future outbreaks.

Automated summary

This study aimed to expand the knowledge about the viral diversity associated with white-winged vampire bats by sampling and sequencing different organs of the bats. The results revealed various viruses closely related to different virus families. The findings are important for understanding the viral diversity of this bat species and for future comparisons of virus outbreaks.