Viral metagenomics reveals heterogeneity in mammalian virus hosting, sharing, and spillover
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Microbiology, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China
- 2Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210037, China
- 3Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Utilization in the Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River Basin, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, China
- 4School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019
- 5Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- 6Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, China
Abstract
Zoonotic viruses originating from mammals pose a persistent threat to global health. While rodents and bats are often considered “special reservoirs,” it is debated if spillover risk is driven by specific taxa or merely reflects mammalian species richness. However, most tests have focused on published host–virus association datasets, which can reflect systematic biases in host and virus sampling effort. To address this limitation, we analyzed a comprehensive repository of 4,685 metagenomic datasets, minimizing bias toward any one viral taxon and spanning 296 species across 14 mammalian orders. We characterized the global mammalian virome and found substantial heterogeneity in the capacity of different mammalian orders to harbor and share human-associated viruses. Counter to conventional wisdom, carnivores exhibited significantly higher propensities to carry human-associated viruses, with bats ranked lower in this metric of zoonotic risk. Network analyses of viral sharing further revealed higher cross-order virus sharing among specific mammalian orders (e.g., carnivores and artiodactyls). Phylogenetic comparative analyses revealed that host life-history traits (e.g., longevity) and anthropogenic factors (e.g., urban land use) were key ecological drivers of both virus richness and transmission centrality. Our study provides a data-driven framework that challenges prevailing narratives of zoonotic risk and offers a refined strategy for prioritizing surveillance and mitigating emerging zoonotic threats.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026viral,
title = {{Viral metagenomics reveals heterogeneity in mammalian virus hosting, sharing, and spillover}},
author = {Yuhao Wang and Guanyu Qu and Zheng Y. X. Huang and Xinyu Zhang and Hongfeng Li and Xuemin Wei and Li Hu and Shixia Xu and Daniel J. Becker and Fuwen Wei and Yifei Xu},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2610672123},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2610672123},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Viral metagenomics reveals heterogeneity in mammalian virus hosting, sharing, and spillover
AU - Yuhao Wang
AU - Guanyu Qu
AU - Zheng Y. X. Huang
AU - Xinyu Zhang
AU - Hongfeng Li
AU - Xuemin Wei
AU - Li Hu
AU - Shixia Xu
AU - Daniel J. Becker
AU - Fuwen Wei
AU - Yifei Xu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
DO - 10.1073/pnas.2610672123
UR - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2610672123
AB - Zoonotic viruses originating from mammals pose a persistent threat to global health. While rodents and bats are often considered “special reservoirs,” it is debated if spillover risk is driven by specific taxa or merely reflects mammalian species richness. However, most tests have focused on published host–virus association datasets, which can reflect systematic biases in host and virus sampling effort. To address this limitation, we analyzed a comprehensive repository of 4,685 metagenomic datasets, minimizing bias toward any one viral taxon and spanning 296 species across 14 mammalian orders. We characterized the global mammalian virome and found substantial heterogeneity in the capacity of different mammalian orders to harbor and share human-associated viruses. Counter to conventional wisdom, carnivores exhibited significantly higher propensities to carry human-associated viruses, with bats ranked lower in this metric of zoonotic risk. Network analyses of viral sharing further revealed higher cross-order virus sharing among specific mammalian orders (e.g., carnivores and artiodactyls). Phylogenetic comparative analyses revealed that host life-history traits (e.g., longevity) and anthropogenic factors (e.g., urban land use) were key ecological drivers of both virus richness and transmission centrality. Our study provides a data-driven framework that challenges prevailing narratives of zoonotic risk and offers a refined strategy for prioritizing surveillance and mitigating emerging zoonotic threats.
SN - 0027-8424
SN - 1091-6490
ER -