Prevalence and Diversity of Haemosporidian-Associated Matryoshka RNA
Viruses in a Natural Population of Wild Birds
Abstract
Matryoshka RNA viruses (MaRNAV) have been detected using bioinformatics
and PCR approaches. They are associated with haemosporidian parasite
infections, yet their prevalence and diversity in wild bird populations
remain largely unknown. To investigate this, we examined blood samples
from wild passerine birds and raptors in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Samples were screened for haemosporidian infections followed by RNA
sequencing (RNAseq) and reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR to detect MaRNAV.
Our analyses identified two novel MaRNAVs (MaRNAV-5 and -6) in various
bird species harboring diverse Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon species.
MaRNAV-5, associated with Haemoproteus, exhibited 71.3% amino acid
identity to MaRNAV-4 and was found across 15 passerine species.
MaRNAV-6, linked to Leucocytozoon, shared 72.9% identity with MaRNAV-3
and was found in 4 raptor species. Prevalence was 44.79% for MaRNAV-5
in infected passerines and 22.22% for MaRNAV-6 in infected raptors.
These viruses were not found in uninfected birds and were consistently
only in birds infected with haemosporidia. Sanger sequencing revealed
high similarity of viral sequences across different bird species. Our
findings indicate a high prevalence of MaRNAV among local wild birds,
suggesting potential impacts on their health and ecology. We propose a
life-cycle model for these viruses where the insect vector is the
primary host, and the haemosporidian parasite acts as the virus vector
to its next host. Further research is needed to determine the impact of
these viruses in avian systems.