Trafficked Malayan pangolins contain viral pathogens of humans
Wenqiang Shi, Mǎng Shī, Tengcheng Que, Xiao-Ming Cui, Run‐Ze Ye, Luo‐Yuan Xia, Xin Hou, Jia-Jing Zheng, Na Jia, Xing Xie, Wei-Chen Wu, Meihong He, Huifeng Wang, Yongjie Wei, Aiqiong Wu, Shengfeng Zhang, Yu-Sheng Pan, Panyu Chen, Qian Wang, Shousheng Li, Yanli Zhong, Yingjiao Li, Luohao Tan, Lin Zhao, Jia-Fu Jiang, Yanling Hu, Wu‐Chun Cao
Abstract
Pangolins are the most trafficked wild animal in the world according to the World Wildlife Fund. The discovery of SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins has piqued interest in the viromes of these wild, scaly-skinned mammals. We sequenced the viromes of 161 pangolins that were smuggled into China and assembled 28 vertebrate-associated viruses, 21 of which have not been previously reported in vertebrates. We named 16 members of Hunnivirus, Pestivirus and Copiparvovirus pangolin-associated viruses. We report that the L-protein has been lost from all hunniviruses identified in pangolins. Sequences of four human-associated viruses were detected in pangolin viromes, including respiratory syncytial virus, Orthopneumovirus, Rotavirus A and Mammalian orthoreovirus. The genomic sequences of five mammal-associated and three tick-associated viruses were also present. Notably, a coronavirus related to HKU4-CoV, which was originally found in bats, was identified. The presence of these viruses in smuggled pangolins identifies these mammals as a potential source of emergent pathogenic viruses.