Short Communication Detection of diverse novel astroviruses from small mammals in China

Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Dali, PR ChinaAstroviruses infect humans and many animal species and cause gastroenteritis. To extensivelyunderstand the distribution and genetic diversity of astrovirus in small mammals, we tested 968anal swabs from 39 animal species, most of which were bats and rodents. We detected diverseastroviruses in 10 bat species, including known bat astroviruses and a large number of novelviruses. Meanwhile, novel groups of astroviruses were identified in three wild rodent species and aremarkably high genetic diversity of astrovirus was revealed in Eothenomys cachinus.Wedetected astroviruses in captive-bred porcupines and a nearly full-length genome sequence wasdetermined for one strain. Phylogenetic analysis of the complete ORF2 sequence suggested thatthis strain may share a common ancestor with porcine astrovirus type 2. Moreover, to ourknowledge, this study reports the first discovery of astroviruses in shrews and pikas. Our resultsprovide new insights for understanding these small mammals as natural reservoirs of astroviruses.