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Viruses
Volume 18
Issue 5
10.3390/v18050584
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Infectome Landscape of Rodents and Shrews in Guangdong Province Reveals Diverse Pathogens with Zoonotic Potential in Wildlife

by
Yukun Lin
1,2,†,
Fenxiang Li
2,†,
Peiyu Liang
3,†,
Yangzi Zhou
4,
Lihua Zhang
1,
Wudi Zhou
2,
Yufeng Liang
2,
Ruolan Yu
2,
Wei Yang
2,
Zhijian Zhou
2,
Zeliang Wei
2,
Jian He
2,*,
Jingzhe Jiang
3,* and
Huacheng Yan
2,*
1
School of Public Health, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 511436, China
2
Southern China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 510507, China
3
Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center for Marine Bio-Resources Sustainable Utilization and College of Oceanography, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
4
Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 102629, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Viruses 2026, 18(5), 584; https://doi.org/10.3390/v18050584
Submission received: 15 April 2026 / Revised: 11 May 2026 / Accepted: 15 May 2026 / Published: 21 May 2026
(This article belongs to the Section Animal Viruses)
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

Rodents and shrews are important reservoir hosts due to their close association with human activities and their role in carrying various zoonotic pathogens. Recently, meta-transcriptomic sequencing has become a powerful tool for surveilling and screening novel pathogens from wild animals. However, many of these studies focused only on the diversity and genetic evolution of viruses from wildlife, while ignoring non-viral pathogens such as bacterial and eukaryotic microorganisms. Here, we performed a comprehensive infectome analysis of 227 tissue samples collected from 42 rodents and 16 shrews across six cities of Guangdong Province, China. We identified 34 viral families, including 23 mammalian viruses. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a henipavirus from the kidneys of shrews closely related to the Langya virus with potential infection risks to humans. Additionally, two potential pathogenic bacteria and 12 eukaryotic pathogens from six genera were found, showing clearer organ tropism than viruses. Interestingly, a moderate positive abundance correlation between Usmuvirus newyorkense and Trichinella suggested a potential virus–parasite association. We used machine learning models to evaluate the zoonotic potential of the obtained viruses, which indicated that 15 of 23 viral species were high risk for human infection. These findings provide important insight into the substantial zoonotic threat posed by pathogens circulating in wild small mammals in southern China and highlight the necessity for persistent wildlife pathogen surveillance.
Keywords: rodents; shrews; infectome landscape; phylogenetic analysis; zoonotic potential rodents; shrews; infectome landscape; phylogenetic analysis; zoonotic potential

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Lin, Y.; Li, F.; Liang, P.; Zhou, Y.; Zhang, L.; Zhou, W.; Liang, Y.; Yu, R.; Yang, W.; Zhou, Z.; et al. Infectome Landscape of Rodents and Shrews in Guangdong Province Reveals Diverse Pathogens with Zoonotic Potential in Wildlife. Viruses 2026, 18, 584. https://doi.org/10.3390/v18050584

AMA Style

Lin Y, Li F, Liang P, Zhou Y, Zhang L, Zhou W, Liang Y, Yu R, Yang W, Zhou Z, et al. Infectome Landscape of Rodents and Shrews in Guangdong Province Reveals Diverse Pathogens with Zoonotic Potential in Wildlife. Viruses. 2026; 18(5):584. https://doi.org/10.3390/v18050584

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lin, Yukun, Fenxiang Li, Peiyu Liang, Yangzi Zhou, Lihua Zhang, Wudi Zhou, Yufeng Liang, Ruolan Yu, Wei Yang, Zhijian Zhou, and et al. 2026. "Infectome Landscape of Rodents and Shrews in Guangdong Province Reveals Diverse Pathogens with Zoonotic Potential in Wildlife" Viruses 18, no. 5: 584. https://doi.org/10.3390/v18050584

APA Style

Lin, Y., Li, F., Liang, P., Zhou, Y., Zhang, L., Zhou, W., Liang, Y., Yu, R., Yang, W., Zhou, Z., Wei, Z., He, J., Jiang, J., & Yan, H. (2026). Infectome Landscape of Rodents and Shrews in Guangdong Province Reveals Diverse Pathogens with Zoonotic Potential in Wildlife. Viruses, 18(5), 584. https://doi.org/10.3390/v18050584

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