Fecal Virome of Southeastern Maned Sloth (Bradypus crinitus) (Pilosa: Bradypodidae)

Abstract

Abstract We report a viral metagenomic analysis of fecal samples from Bradypus crinitus (Pilosa: Bradypodidae), a recently described sloth species that occurs in the Atlantic Forest of Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro states, Southeast Brazil. Through Illumina sequencing, we generated a total of 2,065,344 raw reads, of which 945,386 reads (45.77%) passed the quality and size filter. The highest proportion of them was assigned to Eukarya, followed by Bacteria and only a small proportion to Virus. However, we identified 24 viral families using distinct taxonomic assignment tools, including phages and vertebrate viruses, such as retroviruses and papillomaviruses. Also, we identified four bacterial genus already associated with disease in sloths. Our study sheds light on the microbiome of a previously unexplored species, further contributing to the comprehension of metagenomic global diversity.

Keywords

• Virosphere
• Papillomaviridae
• Retroviridae
• gut microbiome
• Southeastern Maned Sloth