Comprehensive Infectome Analysis Reveals Diverse Infectious Agents with Zoonotic Potential in Wildlife

Abstract

Understanding wildlife-pathogen interactions is crucial for mitigating zoonotic risk. Through meta-transcriptomic sequencing we profiled the infectomes of 1,922 samples from 67 mammalian species across China, uncovering a remarkable diversity of viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic pathogens. Of the 195 pathogens identified, 62 were novel, including a bi- segmented coronavirus in diseased lesser pandas, which we propose represents a new genus - Zetacoronavirus. The orders Carnivora and Rodentia exhibited the highest pathogen diversity and were implicated in numerous host-jumping events. Comparative analysis of diseased versus healthy animals revealed a trend of higher pathogen loads in the former, with possible differences in tissue tropisms. In total, 48 zoonotic and 17 epizootic pathogens were identified, with frequent cross-species transmission, emphasizing the potential for emerging public health threats. This study highlights the urgent need for wildlife pathogen surveillance to inform proactive disease management strategies.