African army ants at the forefront of virome surveillance in a remote tropical forest

Matthieu Fritz; Bérénice Reggiardo; Denis Filloux; Lisa Claude; Emmanuel Fernandez; Frédéric Mahé; Simona Kraberger; Joy M Custer; Pierre Becquart; Telstar Ndong Mebaley; Linda Bohou Kombila; Léadisaelle Hosanna Lenguiya; Larson Boundenga; Illich M. Mombo; Gael Darren Maganga; Fabien Roch Niama; Jean-Sylvain Koumba; Mylène Ogliastro; Michel Yvon; Darren Martin; Stéphane Blanc; Arvind Varsani; Eric Leroy; Philippe Roumagnac

doi:10.24072/pcjournal.249

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African army ants at the forefront of virome surveillance in a remote tropical forest

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African army ants at the forefront of virome surveillance in a remote tropical forest

Matthieu Fritz, Bérénice Reggiardo, Denis Filloux, Lisa Claude, Emmanuel Fernandez, Frédéric Mahé, Simona Kraberger, Joy M Custer, Pierre Becquart, Telstar Ndong Mebaley, …

Peer Community Journal, Vol.3

13/03/2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24072/pcjournal.249

Abstract

virome

virus diversity

ants

arthropod viruses

In this study, we used a predator-enabled metagenomics strategy to sample the virome of a remote and difficult-to-access densely forested African tropical region. Specifically, we focused our study on the use of army ants of the genus Dorylus that are obligate collective foragers and group predators that attack and overwhelm a broad array of animal prey. Using 209 army ant samples collected from 29 colonies and the virion-associated nucleic acid-based metagenomics approach, we showed that a broad diversity of bacterial, plant, invertebrate and vertebrate viral sequences were accumulated by army ants: including sequences from 157 different viral genera in 56 viral families. This suggests that using predators and scavengers such as army ants to sample broad swathes of tropical forest viromes can shed light on the composition and the structure of viral populations of these complex and inaccessible ecosystems.

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Title: African army ants at the forefront of virome surveillance in a remote tropical forest
Creators - without role: Matthieu Fritz - Université de Montpellier, Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs : Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle - MIVEGEC
Bérénice Reggiardo - Université de Montpellier, Plant Health Institute of Montpellier - PHIM
Denis Filloux - Université de Montpellier, Plant Health Institute of Montpellier - PHIM
Lisa Claude - Université de Montpellier, Plant Health Institute of Montpellier - PHIM
Emmanuel Fernandez - Université de Montpellier, Plant Health Institute of Montpellier - PHIM
Frédéric Mahé - Université de Montpellier, Plant Health Institute of Montpellier - PHIM
Simona Kraberger - Arizona State University
Joy M Custer - Arizona State University
Pierre Becquart - Université de Montpellier, Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs : Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle - MIVEGEC
Telstar Ndong Mebaley - Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches Médicales de Franceville
Linda Bohou Kombila - Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville
Léadisaelle Hosanna Lenguiya - Marien Ngouabi University
Larson Boundenga - Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville
Illich M. Mombo - Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville
Gael Darren Maganga - Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville
Fabien Roch Niama - Laboratoire National de Santé Publique du Congo
Jean-Sylvain Koumba - Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville
Mylène Ogliastro - Université de Montpellier, Diversité, Génomes et Interactions Microorganismes-Insectes - DGIMI
Michel Yvon - Université de Montpellier, Plant Health Institute of Montpellier - PHIM
Darren Martin - University of Cape Town
Stéphane Blanc - Université de Montpellier, Plant Health Institute of Montpellier - PHIM
Arvind Varsani - Arizona State University
Eric Leroy - Université de Montpellier, Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs : Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle - MIVEGEC
Philippe Roumagnac - Université de Montpellier, Plant Health Institute of Montpellier - PHIM
Publication Details: Peer Community Journal, Vol.3
Grant note: The study was funded by the Word Organization for Animal Health (EBO-SURSY: FOOD/2016/379-660).
Identifiers: 9935183709311
Academic Unit: Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs : Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle - MIVEGEC; Plant Health Institute of Montpellier - PHIM; Diversité, Génomes et Interactions Microorganismes-Insectes - DGIMI; Interactions Hôtes-Pathogènes Environnement - IHPE
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article
Local Fields: hal-04238904