Anellovirus infections are highly prevalent in mammals, however, prior to this study only a handful of anellovirus genomes had been identified in members of the Felidae family. Here we characterise anelloviruses in pumas (Puma concolor), bobcats (Lynx rufus), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), caracals (Caracal caracal) and domestic cats (Felis catus). The complete anellovirus genomes (n = 220) recovered from 149 individuals were diverse. ORF1 protein sequence similarity network analysis coupled with phylogenetic analysis, revealed two distinct clusters that are populated by felid-derived anellovirus sequences, a pattern mirroring that observed for the porcine anelloviruses. Of the two-felid dominant anellovirus groups, one includes sequences from bobcats, pumas, domestic cats and an ocelot, and the other includes sequences from caracals, Canada lynx, domestic cats and pumas. Coinfections of diverse anelloviruses appear to be common among the felids. Evidence of recombination, both within and between felid-specific anellovirus groups, supports a long coevolution history between host and virus.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	bobcat, puma, Caracal, Canada lynx, domestic cat ,torque teno virus, anelloviridae
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Zoology
Research Field:	Zoology not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
UTAS Author:	Fountain-Jones, NM (Dr Nicholas Fountain-Jones)
ID Code:	152277
Year Published:	2021
Web of Science® Times Cited:	6
Deposited By:	Mathematics
Deposited On:	2022-08-16
Last Modified:	2022-11-23
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