Metatranscriptomic Identification of Co- and Incidental Infections in Marine Turtles Reveals Complex Disease Aetiologies
- 1University of Sydney
Abstract
Traditional veterinary pathology investigations on wild animals generally conclude a primary cause of death based on a combination of observed clinical signs, gross and microscopic lesions, microbial culture and PCR. However, these methods may fail to capture the broader microbial community of the host. We employed metatranscriptomic sequencing to characterise the potential pathobiome of necropsied marine turtles, comparing these findings with corresponding veterinary pathology reports. Tissue samples were collected from 76 individuals spanning three species of marine turtles -- the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), and the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) -- across the coastline of New South Wales, Australia. Reported causes of mortality ranged from infectious disease to trauma. We identified a diverse range of parasites within the genera Neospirochis, Hapalotrema, Paraorgymatobothrium, Eimeria and Callitetrarhynchus, and bacteria including the genera Aeromonas, Clostridium, and Vibrio. Novel viruses of the families Astroviridae, Caliciviridae, Hepaciviridae, Hepeviridae, Nyamivirdae, Orthomyxoviridae, Picobirnaviridae and Rhabdoviridae were also identified. In cases where infectious disease was noted in the pathology report, we frequently observed high pathogen read counts consistent with the listed primary diagnoses. However, we also detected a range of incidental infections involving eukaryotic parasites, bacteria, and viruses. The diversity of infectious agents detected in marine turtles suggests that the observed disease outcomes are unlikely to be driven by a single causative agent, but rather by complex interactions between host health, the pathobiome, and environmental stressors. We discuss the potential implications for turtle health and conservation.
Related
- Incidental Atrial Amyloid on Surgical Pathology Revealing Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis
- Commentary: Resistance breakers: a novel approach to tackle biofilm associated infections and antimicrobial resistance
- Keratinizing Squamous and Intestinal Metaplasia in Urothelium of Long-term Catheterized Patients with Chronic Urinary Tract Infections
- Biofilm-associated healthcare-associated infections: mechanisms, clinical burden, and emerging therapeutic frontiers - a narrative review.
- Applications of single-cell RNA sequencing in fungal infections
BibTeX
@misc{lim2026metatranscriptomic,
title = {{Metatranscriptomic Identification of Co- and Incidental Infections in Marine Turtles Reveals Complex Disease Aetiologies}},
author = {L. Lim and B. Lang and H. Fenton and K. C. Rose and J. Hall and E. C. Holmes},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.02.753670},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.02.753670v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Metatranscriptomic Identification of Co- and Incidental Infections in Marine Turtles Reveals Complex Disease Aetiologies
AU - L. Lim
AU - B. Lang
AU - H. Fenton
AU - K. C. Rose
AU - J. Hall
AU - E. C. Holmes
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/02
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.02.753670
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.02.753670v1
AB - Traditional veterinary pathology investigations on wild animals generally conclude a primary cause of death based on a combination of observed clinical signs, gross and microscopic lesions, microbial culture and PCR. However, these methods may fail to capture the broader microbial community of the host. We employed metatranscriptomic sequencing to characterise the potential pathobiome of necropsied marine turtles, comparing these findings with corresponding veterinary pathology reports. Tissue samples were collected from 76 individuals spanning three species of marine turtles -- the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), and the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) -- across the coastline of New South Wales, Australia. Reported causes of mortality ranged from infectious disease to trauma. We identified a diverse range of parasites within the genera Neospirochis, Hapalotrema, Paraorgymatobothrium, Eimeria and Callitetrarhynchus, and bacteria including the genera Aeromonas, Clostridium, and Vibrio. Novel viruses of the families Astroviridae, Caliciviridae, Hepaciviridae, Hepeviridae, Nyamivirdae, Orthomyxoviridae, Picobirnaviridae and Rhabdoviridae were also identified. In cases where infectious disease was noted in the pathology report, we frequently observed high pathogen read counts consistent with the listed primary diagnoses. However, we also detected a range of incidental infections involving eukaryotic parasites, bacteria, and viruses. The diversity of infectious agents detected in marine turtles suggests that the observed disease outcomes are unlikely to be driven by a single causative agent, but rather by complex interactions between host health, the pathobiome, and environmental stressors. We discuss the potential implications for turtle health and conservation.
ER -