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Peer-reviewedCC BYViruses

Faecal Viromes of Three Sympatric Penguins on Ardley Island, Antarctica: A Transcriptomic Study Showing Limited Host-Species Effect.

  • Ruifeng Xu1
  • Minhao Gao2
  • Wenting Mao1,3
  • Jian Xiao1,3
  • Yang Liu1
  • Jun Ni1,4
  • Yi Han5
  • Yufei Dai2
  • Haizhou Liu1,3
  • Fei Deng1,3
  • Liulin Chen5
  • Wei Wang1,3
5 affiliations
  1. 1Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
  2. 2Antarctic Great Wall Ecology National Observation and Research Station, Polar Research Institute of China, Ministry of Natural Resources, Shanghai 200136, China.
  3. 3University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China.
  4. 4Chongqing Key Laboratory of Highly Pathogenic Microbes, Chongqing Research Center for Disease Prevention and Public Health, Chongqing Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chongqing Academy of Preventive Medicine), Chongqing 400707, China.
  5. 5Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200136, China.
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Abstract

During the 41st Chinese Antarctic Expedition (2024-2025), fresh faecal samples were collected from sympatric Adélie, chinstrap, and gentoo penguins on Ardley Island. The faecal viromes were systematically profiled via transcriptomic sequencing coupled with viral contig assembly. Thirty-two known viral families were annotated, yet over half of viral reads remained unclassified, indicating substantial uncharacterised viral diversity in Antarctic penguin guts. No significant interspecific differences in viral abundance or alpha-diversity were detected, and host-species exerted only a weak effect on viral community structure. While H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza and Newcastle disease virus were absent, several potential pathogens, including deltacoronaviruses, novel astroviruses, and picornaviruses, were recovered. This work establishes baseline virome data for Antarctic pygoscelid penguins and provides valuable insights for long-term pathogen surveillance of polar wildlife and assessments of viral spillover risk.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{xu2026faecal,
  title = {{Faecal Viromes of Three Sympatric Penguins on Ardley Island, Antarctica: A Transcriptomic Study Showing Limited Host-Species Effect.}},
  author = {Ruifeng Xu and Minhao Gao and Wenting Mao and Jian Xiao and Yang Liu and Jun Ni and Yi Han and Yufei Dai and Haizhou Liu and Fei Deng and Liulin Chen and Wei Wang},
  journal = {Viruses},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3390/v18101138},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42944058},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Faecal Viromes of Three Sympatric Penguins on Ardley Island, Antarctica: A Transcriptomic Study Showing Limited Host-Species Effect.
AU  - Ruifeng Xu
AU  - Minhao Gao
AU  - Wenting Mao
AU  - Jian Xiao
AU  - Yang Liu
AU  - Jun Ni
AU  - Yi Han
AU  - Yufei Dai
AU  - Haizhou Liu
AU  - Fei Deng
AU  - Liulin Chen
AU  - Wei Wang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/14
JO  - Viruses
DO  - 10.3390/v18101138
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42944058
AB  - During the 41st Chinese Antarctic Expedition (2024-2025), fresh faecal samples were collected from sympatric Adélie, chinstrap, and gentoo penguins on Ardley Island. The faecal viromes were systematically profiled via transcriptomic sequencing coupled with viral contig assembly. Thirty-two known viral families were annotated, yet over half of viral reads remained unclassified, indicating substantial uncharacterised viral diversity in Antarctic penguin guts. No significant interspecific differences in viral abundance or alpha-diversity were detected, and host-species exerted only a weak effect on viral community structure. While H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza and Newcastle disease virus were absent, several potential pathogens, including deltacoronaviruses, novel astroviruses, and picornaviruses, were recovered. This work establishes baseline virome data for Antarctic pygoscelid penguins and provides valuable insights for long-term pathogen surveillance of polar wildlife and assessments of viral spillover risk.
SN  - 1999-4915
ER  -