The fecal virome of South and Central American children with diarrhea includes small circular DNA viral genomes of unknown origin

Phan, Tung Gia
da Costa, Antonio Charlys
Del Valle Mendoza, Juana
Bucardo Rivera, Filemon
Nordgren, Johan
O'Ryan, Miguel
Deng, Xutao
Delwart, Eric

Publication date

April 2016

DOI

Abstract

Viral metagenomics of feces collected from 58 Peruvian children with unexplained diarrhea revealed several small circular ssDNA genomes. Two genomes related to sequences previously reported in feces from chimpanzees and other mammals and recently named smacoviruses were characterized and then detected by PCR in 1.7 % (1/58) and 19 % (11/58) of diarrheal samples, respectively. Another three genomes from a distinct small circular ssDNA viral group provisionally called pecoviruses encoded Cap and Rep proteins with <35 % identity to those in related genomes reported in human, seal, porcine and dromedary feces. Pecovirus DNA was detected in 15.5 % (9/58), 5.9 % (3/51) and 3 % (3/100) of fecal samples from unexplained diarrhea in Peru, Nicaragua ...