Infectome analysis of bat kidneys from Yunnan province, China, reveals novel henipaviruses related to Hendra and Nipah viruses and prevalent bacterial and eukaryotic microbes
Bats are natural reservoirs for a wide range of microorganisms, including many notable zoonotic pathogens. However, the composition of the infectome (i.e., the collection of viral, bacterial and eukaryotic microorganisms) within bat kidneys remains poorly understood. To address this gap, we performed meta-transcriptomic sequencing on kidney tissues from 142 bats, spanning ten species sampled at five locations in Yunnan province, China. This analysis identified 22 viral species, including 20 novel viruses, two of which represented newly discovered henipaviruses closely related to the highly pathogenic Hendra and Nipah viruses. These henipaviruses were found in the kidneys of bats inhabiting an orchard near villages, raising concerns about potential fruit contamination via bat urine and transmission risks to livestock or humans. Additionally, we identified a novel protozoan parasite, tentatively named Klossiella yunnanensis, along with two highly abundant bacterial species, one of which is a newly discovered species-Flavobacterium yunnanensis. These findings broaden our understanding of the bat kidney infectome, underscore critical zoonotic threats, and highlight the need for comprehensive, full-spectrum microbial analyses of previously understudied organs to better assess spillover risks from bat populations.
Authors
- John‐Sebastian Eden (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1374-3551)
- Qinyu Gou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1311-2901)
- Lifeng Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5175-7589)
- Yuanfei Pan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7450-9334)
- Yao-Qing Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4659-1550)
- Weihong Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1837-5439)
- Guopeng Kuang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2991-4538)
- Edward C. Holmes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9596-3552)
- Juan Wang
- Jing Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8405-5444)
- Xi Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9070-2986)
- Wei-Chen Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8064-2023)
- Yun Feng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7354-0513)
- Mǎng Shī (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6154-4437)
- Hong Pan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4043-7453)
- Tian Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8761-6212)
Institutions
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- National Sun Yat-sen University (TW)
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- Fudan University (CN)
- Beijing Normal University (CN)
- The Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- Yunnan Center for Disease Control And Prevention (CN)
- Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention (CN)
- State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science (CN)
- Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health (HK)
- Dali University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PLoS Pathogens
- Published
- 2025-06-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1013235
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Virology and Viral Diseases
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.06
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China