Fecal Virome of Coendou spinosus (Paraguaian Hairy Dwarf Porcupine)

Abstract

The porcupine (Coendou spinosus) is a rodent species widely distributed in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. Like other rodent species, porcupines can be potential reservoirs of zoonotic agents. However, little is known about the viral diversity in these animals. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate, through massive sequencing, the virome of the feces of seven adult healthy free-living porcupines living in forest fragments from Silva Jardim, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A total of 41 viral families were classified, of which only seven were validated by both Kraken2 and Diamond taxonomic analysis tools, including bacteriophages (Siphoviridae, Myoviridae, Podoviridae), vertebrate viruses, such as Papillomaviridae, and unclassified RNA viruses. In addition, we also observed the presence of pathogenic bacteria and fungi already described in porcupines. The present study describes for the first time the microbiome in fecal samples from Brazilian porcupines, contributing to the global metagenomic characterization.