Detection of <i>Picornavirales</i> Viruses Using Viral Metagenomics in Wild Boars (<i>Sus scrofa</i>) from Guangdong Province, China

Abstract

Wild boars (<i>Sus scrofa</i>) are hosts of several viruses that result in highly destructive diseases. Identifying and cataloging viruses carried by wild boars is a logical approach to evaluate the range of potential viruses and help with the conservation of both wild boars and cultivated pigs, as well as human beings, considering the possibility of zoonotic virus transmission from pigs to humans. In this study, eight lung tissue samples and 11 mixtures of anal and pharyngeal swabs were collected from 11 healthy wild boar individuals. Viral metagenomic analyses were conducted to detect virus diversity in wild boars. 1,199 contigs from a total of 184,434 <i>de novo</i> assembled contigs were determined as viral sequences, of which 71 contigs had a high level of sequence similarity to known RNA viruses. The dominant viruses were Sakobuvirus A and Posavirus 1, both of which belong to the <i>Picornavirales</i> family. A draft genome of Sakobuvirus A, covering 80.6% of the genome of the feline Sakobuvirus A strain, as well as a whole genome sequence of a Posavirus 1 strain with a length of 9,226 bp were obtained. Although there is little information on the etiology and pathogenesis of these two <i>Picornavirales</i> strains, their detection will enrich the information in the <i>Picornavirales</i> database and further expedite <i>Picornavirales</i> research on genetic diversity, epidemiology, and evolution.