Meta-Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Novel RNA Viruses in <i>Hippocampus erectus</i>
Fan Zhang,
Zhihao Ren,
Xiaomeng Guo,
Yiting Wang,
Fanzeng Meng,
Weifeng Shi,
Xinping Wang,
Xuan Dong
Affiliations
Fan Zhang
College of Marine Science and Biological Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
Zhihao Ren
Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Xiaomeng Guo
Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Key Laboratory of Maricultural Organism Disease Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Qingdao Key Laboratory of Mariculture Epidemiology and Biosecurity, Qingdao 266071, China
Yiting Wang
Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Key Laboratory of Maricultural Organism Disease Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Qingdao Key Laboratory of Mariculture Epidemiology and Biosecurity, Qingdao 266071, China
Fanzeng Meng
Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Key Laboratory of Maricultural Organism Disease Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Qingdao Key Laboratory of Mariculture Epidemiology and Biosecurity, Qingdao 266071, China
Weifeng Shi
Shanghai Institute of Virology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
Xinping Wang
College of Marine Science and Biological Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
Xuan Dong
College of Marine Science and Biological Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
Lined seahorse, Hippocampus erectus, is an important aquatic animal due to its medicinal and ornamental purposes. However, our understanding of the viral spectrum in H. erectus is still limited. Here, we studied the viruses in H. erectus using meta-transcriptomic sequencing. A total of 213,770,166 reads were generated and assembled de novo into 539 virus-associated contigs. Three novel RNA viruses from the Astroviridae, Paramyxoviridae, and Picornaviridae families were finally identified. In addition, we identified a strain of nervous necrosis virus from H. erectus. In particular, the unhealthy group showed a higher viral diversity and abundance than the normal group. These results revealed the diversity and cross-species transmission of viruses in H. erectus and highlighted the threat of viral infections to H. erectus.
