Biology subjects

Mandojana, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Mandojana, E..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Metagenomic identification of novel Hepaciviridae in Australian birds reveals pegivirus recombination

The Hepaciviridae family of RNA viruses have a wide range of hosts including arthropods, fish, birds and mammals. Birds are well documented reservoirs of these viruses, owing to their physiological and ecological characteristics that facilitates rapid transmission through populations. To expand our understanding of the avian virome, with a particular focus on the identification of novel hepaciviruses, we performed metatranscriptomic sequencing on tissues taken from Australian endemic birds such as emus, pelicans as well as migratory birds (shearwater and albatross sp., egrets, herons and cuckoos) found deceased in New South Wales, Australia between 2021 and 2025. From these data we identified two novel pegiviruses -- shearwater and Australian pelican pegivirus (denoted SWPgV and APPgV) -- that provided phylogenetic evidence of a putative recombination event, reflected in incongruent tree topologies. SWPgV and APPgV form a sister clade with previously described avian-associated pegiviruses in NS3 phylogenetic trees, yet fell as a unique basal group in phylogenies based on NS5B. The lack of a clear parental lineage in NS5B domains suggests that additional divergent avian-associated pegiviruses have yet to be identified. In addition, we discovered two novel orthohepaciviruses herein named short-tailed shearwater and emu orthohepacivirus (STSHpV and EHpV) that are related to other avian-associated orthohepaciviruses, indicative of a long avian association, as well as a confirmed case of pegivirus and orthohepacivirus co-infection. Combined, these avian hepacivirus findings demonstrate the importance of tissue-based viral discovery studies in uncovering novel virus species and understanding their complex evolutionary histories.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2026

Hidden diversity and expanded host range of sarthroviruses, including terrestrial vertebrates

The Sarthroviridae are a family of highly compact satellite RNA viruses comprising one recognised species, extra small virus (XSV). Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus (MrNV) is the associated helper virus of XSV and their co-infection has been linked to white tail disease in freshwater prawns globally, although the role of XSV is remains unclear. Here, we describe the discovery and characterisation of ten novel, highly divergent sarthrovirus species from a range of hosts and environments within a small geographical region in Australia. These comprise novel sarthroviruses associated with marine sponges, seal and dingo faeces, environmental marine sediment samples and Indo-Pacific geckos (Hemidactylus garnotii). All the novel viruses possess only a capsid protein, consistent with the genome of XSV, yet exhibit substantial sequence divergence. Notably, some sarthrovirus variants seem to utilise different replication systems despite being genetically identical and present in the same host species. Sequences from nodaviruses, which could plausibly act as helpers, were associated with some, but not all, the sarthroviruses identified here. Phylogenetic analyses support the expansion of the Sarthroviridae into multiple distinct lineages, comprising at least seven genera. Collectively, these findings reveal a broader ecological distribution and evolutionary diversity of sarthroviruses and highlight the possibility of alternative replication strategies and tissue tropism in diverse animal host. SignificanceSarthoviruses are small ([~]800 nucleotides) satellite RNA viruses associated with a nodavirus of crustaceans that acts as a helper. To date, the only known sarthovirus is extra small virus (XSV), which also represents the sole species within the Sarthroviridae. Here, we report the detection of ten divergent sarthroviruses sampled from diverse animal hosts, including vertebrates, that expand the family to 11 species and at least seven genera. These viruses were detected from various host taxa and environmental samples from a confined geographical region in eastern Australia, suggesting that they are ecologically connected. Notably, we did not detect nodaviruses in all samples containing sarthroviruses, suggesting that different viruses may act as helpers for sarthovirus replication.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2026

Co-Circulation of Multiple Kolmioviridae Lineages Through Vertebrate Evolution

Although once only characterized by human hepatitis deltavirus (HDV), membership of the family Kolmioviridae has dramatically expanded in recent years. Despite this transformation in our understanding of the host range of kolmioviruses, the evolutionary history of this enigmatic group of RNA viruses is unclear. Kolmioviruses are characterized as small ([~]1.7kb) satellite viruses that encode a single [~]200 amino acid delta antigen (DAg) and require unrelated helper viruses for replication. Here, we describe eight novel kolmioviruses from metatranscriptomic studies of the American alligator (Alligator missippiensis), red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus), and central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps), as well as avian kolmioviruses mined from the Sequence Read Archive (SRA). Although the novel kolmioviruses were often found in samples co-infected by other viruses, there was no evidence for the presence of hepatitis B virus as seen in HDV. By employing a range of sequence data sets, alignment methods, alignment trimming methods, and substitution models, we provide an evolutionary history of the Kolmioviridae that maximizes the extent of virus-host co-divergence and refines estimates of their evolutionary timescale. Although DAg amino acid sequences are more conserved than nucleotide sequences and hence might be expected to result in more accurate phylogenetic trees, we show that full genome nucleotide sequences likely provide the best representation of kolmiovirus evolution. More broadly, our results reveal that irrespective of the data set used, multiple distinct kolmiovirus lineages have co-circulated throughout vertebrate evolution over timescales spanning hundreds of millions of years, with the association between HDV and HBV appearing only recently. Significance StatementKolmioviruses are satellite RNA viruses, with hepatitis deltavirus (HDV) associated with human disease following co-infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) the best characterized. Although a growing number of animal kolmioviruses have been identified in metagenomic studies and associated with a range of helper viruses, the evolutionary origins and history of this important and unique group of viruses is unknown. By identifying novel kolmioviruses in a range vertebrate hosts, including American alligators, we show that highly diverse lineages of kolmioviruses have co-circulated for the duration of vertebrate evolution with clear evidence of virus-host co-divergence, and are associated with a variety of potential helper viruses. Despite this antiquity, we present evidence that the HDV-HBV association only recently evolved in human populations.

microbiology↗