Biology subjects

Ezenwa, V. O.

Publications and source records attributed to Ezenwa, V. O..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

An innovative tool for non-invasive contact-free pathogen monitoring in animal saliva

Habitat fragmentation, climate change, poaching, human-wildlife conflicts, and infectious diseases are the main threats to biodiversity conservation. They alter host-pathogen dynamics, reduce viable conservation areas, and promote genetic isolation, resulting in physiological stress among animal populations. Moreover, increased proximity between domestic and wild animals further facilitates disease spillovers exposing naive host species and ecosystems to new pathogens. Of the more than 200 known zoonotic diseases, approximately 60% originate from animals, contributing significantly to the global infectious disease burden. Here, we describe the development of an innovative non-invasive approach for biological sampling that has been validated in mice and shelter cats. Our device consists of a disposable plastic cassette that through odor attractants lures animals to lick a filter paper. This saliva collection approach allowed for the detection of RNA viruses by RTqPCR and third-generation sequencing. RTqPCR oral swab and licked paper results showed that both methods significantly predicted serological status. Our sequencing results revealed the richness of the gene space, demonstrating the potential of this device for discovering rare or unknown species circulating in the saliva donor, enabling this player to be recognized as an environmental sentinel. This study demonstrates the feasibility of deploying this device in sheltered/captive animal settings as well as under laboratory simulations of different environments, providing necessary foundations for future field applications. Our methodology holds great potential for monitoring zoonotic pathogens in both captive and free-ranging animals, to even possibly allow proactive mitigation measures prior to spillover, without interfering with the natural animal behaviour and social structures. Visual abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=141 SRC="FIGDIR/small/705368v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (21K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1325498org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@14ff0cdorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@14a4334org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@8217e4_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2025

Fine-scale animal proximity detection and localization via multi-sensor biologgers

O_LIAccurately quantifying spatial interactions is central to understanding social behavior, information flow, predator-prey dynamics, and disease transmission. Proximity loggers that record received signal strength indicator (RSSI) offer a promising approach for estimating pairwise distances, particularly in environments where GPS is unavailable or imprecise. However, RSSI is often dismissed as too noisy for fine-scale inference, with performance that depends on environmental conditions, tag orientation, and between-device variability. Incorporating additional tag-measured data may improve RSSI performance and enable its use as a continuous measure of distance in variable environments. C_LIO_LIHere, we assess the utility of continuous RSSI as a fine-scale distance estimator and localization tool using a novel multi-sensor WiFi biologger (WildFi). We conducted four experiments: (1) testing how tag orientation affects RSSI-distance relationships; (2) evaluating whether environmental covariates measured by onboard sensors improve proximity estimates; (3) assessing the accuracy of trilateration-based tag localization using fixed gateway arrays; and (4) comparing RSSI- and GPS-inferred proximity in free-ranging Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus). C_LIO_LIWhile RSSI alone could predict distance with reasonable accuracy, incorporating additional tag-sensed information (e.g., temperature, humidity, barometric pressure) and accounting for tag-level heterogeneity significantly improved predictive accuracy. Based on RSSI predictions, we could estimate tag location with a median error of 2.6 meters, accurate enough to indirectly estimate proximity networks without tag-to-tag communication. In deployments on free-flying bats, we found that RSSI and GPS were only weakly concordant, with GPS unreliable for detecting fine-scale interactions (<50 m). In contrast, RSSI could capture both fine-scale and some long-range interactions up to [~]250m. C_LIO_LIThese findings highlight RSSIs potential as a robust metric for proximity logging, particularly when combined with multi-sensor data and pre-deployment validations. Integrating multi-sensor data streams further enhances RSSI interpretability. Future biologger designs should prioritize synergy among data streams for integrated insights into proximity and animal behavior. C_LI Data and code for peer review statementData and code to reproduce the results of the paper are provided in a zip folder for peer review. We also provided our compiled code.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Mammalian musculoskeletal regeneration is associated with reduced inflammatory cytokines and an influx of T cells.

Whether the immune response to injury contributes to tissue regeneration is not well understood. We quantified systemic and local cytokines during ear pinna repair to provide the first comprehensive comparison of the immune response to injury between mammalian regeneration (A. cahirinus and A. percivali) and fibrotic repair (M. musculus). Importantly, by comparing laboratory-reared and wild-caught animals we identified responses specifically associated with healing outcome. Fibrotic repair showed a greater local release of IL-6, CCL2 and CXCL1. Conversely, regeneration showed decreased circulating IL-5, IL-6, IL-17, CCL3 and CXCL1 and increased local IL-12 and IL-17. The differential IL-6 response was substantiated by increased pSTAT3 during the inflammatory phase of fibrotic repair and with blastema formation and tissue morphogenesis in Acomys. COX-2 inhibition was not sufficient to induce regeneration. Interestingly, a unique influx of lymphocytes was coupled with regeneration and RNA-expression analysis suggested they were regulatory T cells. Together, the data support regeneration-specific inflammation and T cell responses in Acomys.

immunology↗