Selective deforestation and exposure of African wildlife to bat-borne viruses

Pawel Fedurek; Caroline Asiimwe; Gregory K. Rice; Walter J. Akankwasa; Vernon Reynolds; Catherine Hobaiter; Robert Kityo; Geoffrey Muhanguzi; Klaus Zuberbühler; Catherine Crockford; Regina Z. Cer; Andrew J. Bennett; Jessica M. Rothman; Kimberly A. Bishop-Lilly; Tony L. Goldberg

doi:10.1038/s42003-024-06139-z

Selective deforestation and exposure of African wildlife to bat-borne viruses

Pawel Fedurek, Caroline Asiimwe, Gregory K. Rice, Walter J. Akankwasa, Vernon Reynolds, Catherine Hobaiter, Robert Kityo, Geoffrey Muhanguzi, Klaus Zuberbühler, Catherine Crockford, Regina Z. Cer, Andrew J. Bennett, Jessica M. Rothman, Kimberly A. Bishop-Lilly, Tony L. Goldberg^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Proposed mechanisms of zoonotic virus spillover often posit that wildlife transmission and amplification precede human outbreaks. Between 2006 and 2012, the palm Raphia farinifera, a rich source of dietary minerals for wildlife, was nearly extirpated from Budongo Forest, Uganda. Since then, chimpanzees, black-and-white colobus, and red duiker were observed feeding on bat guano, a behavior not previously observed. Here we show that guano consumption may be a response to dietary mineral scarcity and may expose wildlife to bat-borne viruses. Videos from 2017–2019 recorded 839 instances of guano consumption by the aforementioned species. Nutritional analysis of the guano revealed high concentrations of sodium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus. Metagenomic analyses of the guano identified 27 eukaryotic viruses, including a novel betacoronavirus. Our findings illustrate how “upstream” drivers such as socioeconomics and resource extraction can initiate elaborate chains of causation, ultimately increasing virus spillover risk.

Original language	English
Article number	470
Number of pages	7
Journal	Communications Biology
Volume	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06139-z
Publication status	Published - 22 Apr 2024

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Selective deforestation and exposure of African wildlife to bat-borne viruses (dataset)
Hobaiter, C. (Creator) & Zuberbuehler, K. (Creator), NCBI GenBank, 2024
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA1087330
Dataset

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Fedurek, P., Asiimwe, C., Rice, G. K., Akankwasa, W. J., Reynolds, V., Hobaiter, C., Kityo, R., Muhanguzi, G., Zuberbühler, K., Crockford, C., Cer, R. Z., Bennett, A. J., Rothman, J. M., Bishop-Lilly, K. A., & Goldberg, T. L. (2024). Selective deforestation and exposure of African wildlife to bat-borne viruses. Communications Biology, 7, Article 470. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06139-z

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title = "Selective deforestation and exposure of African wildlife to bat-borne viruses",

abstract = "Proposed mechanisms of zoonotic virus spillover often posit that wildlife transmission and amplification precede human outbreaks. Between 2006 and 2012, the palm Raphia farinifera, a rich source of dietary minerals for wildlife, was nearly extirpated from Budongo Forest, Uganda. Since then, chimpanzees, black-and-white colobus, and red duiker were observed feeding on bat guano, a behavior not previously observed. Here we show that guano consumption may be a response to dietary mineral scarcity and may expose wildlife to bat-borne viruses. Videos from 2017–2019 recorded 839 instances of guano consumption by the aforementioned species. Nutritional analysis of the guano revealed high concentrations of sodium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus. Metagenomic analyses of the guano identified 27 eukaryotic viruses, including a novel betacoronavirus. Our findings illustrate how “upstream” drivers such as socioeconomics and resource extraction can initiate elaborate chains of causation, ultimately increasing virus spillover risk.",

author = "Pawel Fedurek and Caroline Asiimwe and Rice, {Gregory K.} and Akankwasa, {Walter J.} and Vernon Reynolds and Catherine Hobaiter and Robert Kityo and Geoffrey Muhanguzi and Klaus Zuberb{\"u}hler and Catherine Crockford and Cer, {Regina Z.} and Bennett, {Andrew J.} and Rothman, {Jessica M.} and Bishop-Lilly, {Kimberly A.} and Goldberg, {Tony L.}",

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AU - Fedurek, Pawel

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AU - Rice, Gregory K.

AU - Akankwasa, Walter J.

AU - Reynolds, Vernon

AU - Hobaiter, Catherine

AU - Kityo, Robert

AU - Muhanguzi, Geoffrey

AU - Zuberbühler, Klaus

AU - Crockford, Catherine

AU - Cer, Regina Z.

AU - Bennett, Andrew J.

AU - Rothman, Jessica M.

AU - Bishop-Lilly, Kimberly A.

AU - Goldberg, Tony L.

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AB - Proposed mechanisms of zoonotic virus spillover often posit that wildlife transmission and amplification precede human outbreaks. Between 2006 and 2012, the palm Raphia farinifera, a rich source of dietary minerals for wildlife, was nearly extirpated from Budongo Forest, Uganda. Since then, chimpanzees, black-and-white colobus, and red duiker were observed feeding on bat guano, a behavior not previously observed. Here we show that guano consumption may be a response to dietary mineral scarcity and may expose wildlife to bat-borne viruses. Videos from 2017–2019 recorded 839 instances of guano consumption by the aforementioned species. Nutritional analysis of the guano revealed high concentrations of sodium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus. Metagenomic analyses of the guano identified 27 eukaryotic viruses, including a novel betacoronavirus. Our findings illustrate how “upstream” drivers such as socioeconomics and resource extraction can initiate elaborate chains of causation, ultimately increasing virus spillover risk.

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DO - 10.1038/s42003-024-06139-z

M3 - Article

SN - 2399-3642

VL - 7

JO - Communications Biology

JF - Communications Biology

M1 - 470

ER -

Selective deforestation and exposure of African wildlife to bat-borne viruses

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Selective deforestation and exposure of African wildlife to bat-borne viruses (dataset)

Cite this