Stowaways: Maritime Ecology of the Oldest Commensal Ship Rats (Rattus Rattus) Found on a Mediterranean Shipwreck

Harding, Sierra; Tapson, Madeline; BarOz, Guy; Cvikel, Deborah; Marom, Nimrod

doi:10.2139/ssrn.4246558

Cited by 1 publication

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“…The high degree of nucleotide identity of these African retroviruses to WMV SSAV and MelWMV suggests recent transmission. Rodents of various species have been documented as pests aboard ships (46, 47). There are shipping routes across the Indian ocean connecting Southeast Asia, Australia, and East Africa, and it seems reasonable to speculate that a rodent stowaway carrying an infectious WMV variant might explain these findings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

KoRV-related retroviruses in diverse Australian and African rodent species

Hayward,

Tachedjian

2024

Preprint

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The koala retrovirus (KoRV) is a key contributor to the ongoing decline of Australia’s koala population. KoRV has only been found in koalas and its enigmatic origins, as well as that of its close relative, the gibbon ape leukemia virus (GALV), have been a source of enduring debate. Bats and rodents are each proposed as major reservoirs of interspecies transmission with ongoing efforts to identify additional animal hosts of KoRV-related retroviruses. In this study we identified nine rodent species as novel hosts of KoRV-related retroviruses. Included among these hosts are two African rodents, revealing the first appearance of this clade beyond the Australian and Southeast Asian region. One of these African rodents,Mastomys natalensis, carries an endogenous KoRV-related retrovirus that is fully intact and potentially still infectious. Our findings suggest that rodents are the major carriers of KoRV-related retroviruses, with a potential point of origin in Southeast Asia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%