Identification of a putative new virus from the Jingmenvirus group in ticks from wild animals in Brazil

Abstract

Ticks are obligate hematophagous arthropods that can transmit pathogens and are important vectors of diseases affecting wild and domestic animals, as well as humans, thus representing a serious risk to public health. Despite the growing concern about arboviruses, our understanding of tick-borne viruses remains limited compared to those transmitted by mosquitoes. We performed metagenomic analysis, focusing on the virome of ticks collected from wild animals in the countryside of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The experimental analysis highlighted important molecular evidence of a potential new virus from the Jingmenvirus group in ticks collected from wild animals. The four pools that were positive included Amblyomma sculptum and A. nodosum ticks, collected from Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Callithrix penicillata, and Cerdocyon thous. These data suggest that it is a new member of the Jingmenvirus group, which we propose to be named Rio Preto tick virus (RPTV). In addition, the RPTV genome was analysed in silico, and proteins with high homology to those of the Jingmenvirus group were identified. Here, we report the identification of a potentially novel virus found in ticks from wild animals in southeastern Brazil. This study contributes to the epidemiological surveillance of the region and helps to understand the potential risks of the emergence of zoonoses, which can impact human health, in addition to the potential impacts on the fauna.