{
  "abstract": "Background & Aims: The origin of hepatitis D virus (HDV) and related deltaviruses remains elusive. Contrarily, hepatitis B virus, HDV's helper virus, and related hepadnaviruses display long-term association with primates. Current data suggest cross-order host shifts as a common mechanism in deltavirus ecology, but corroborative evidence is lacking. Here, we aimed to elucidate the genealogy of primate deltaviruses. Methods: We screened 961 non-human primate (NHP) liver specimens obtained in Brazil between 2017-2023 for deltaviruses and hepadnaviruses. Complete deltaviral genomes were obtained via overlapping nested RT-PCR, cloned, expressed in vitro and analyzed via immunoblot and immunofluorescence analysis. Anti-deltaviral antibodies in NHP and vampire bats were detected via immunofluorescence analysis. Results: We detected deltaviruses in two NHP. Complete deltaviral genomes exhibited common features including high self-complementarity, genomic and antigenomic ribozymes, and a delta antigen open reading frame. NHP deltaviruses were phylogenetically related to viruses found in common vampire bats. The NHP deltaviruses replicated in vitro without the expression of a large delta antigen. We did not detect anti-deltaviral antibodies in NHP sera (0/249), in contrast to sera from common vampire bats (7/112; 6.2%, 95% CI: 1.8-10.7), indicating viral circulation in bats. Ancestral state reconstruction suggested a bat origin of NHP deltaviruses. Targeted screening excluded a coinfecting hepadnavirus in the deltavirus-positive animals but led to the discovery of a hepadnavirus, corroborating a non-recent introduction of hepadnaviruses into the primate stem-lineage. Conclusions: Our data are consistent with deltaviral cross-order host shifts and suggestive of the susceptibility of primates to reservoir-bound deltaviruses, lending credibility to a zoonotic origin of HDV.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 15,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "F. Lehmann"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Moreira-Soto"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. A. Mares-Guia"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Alfaro-Alarcon"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. V. Molina"
    },
    {
      "name": "I. O. Carneiro"
    },
    {
      "name": "B. F. d. C. D. Souza"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. J. B. Carneiro"
    },
    {
      "name": "G. Hernandez-Mora"
    },
    {
      "name": "D. Glebe"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. C. d. A. Campos"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. R. Franke"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. L. Durigon"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. M. Bispo de Filippis"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "J. F. Drexler"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1e77388ae26p1.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.09.02.747548",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.747548v1.full",
  "id": "1e77388ae26p1",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.747548v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "microbiology"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2713|Hepatitis B Virus Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7208781247",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.747548v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-02",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1e77388ae26p1.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:12Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.09.02.747548",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.747548v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:microbiology",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Infection of neotropical non-human primates with bat deltaviruses",
  "title_text": "Infection of neotropical non-human primates with bat deltaviruses",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:12Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1e77388ae26p1",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}