Genetic diversity of adenovirus in neotropical bats from Brazil

Bats can harbor a diversity of viruses, such as adenovirus. Ten different species of bat adenoviruses (BtAdV A to J) have been previous described worlwide. In Brazil, BtAdV was described in three species of phyllostomid species: Artibeus lituratus, Desmodus rotundus, and Sturnira lilium. There are around 180 bat species in Brazil, with 67% inhabiting the Atlantic Forest, with few information about the circulation of BtAdV in this biome. We aimed to describe the molecular detection and the phylogenetic characterization and suggest a classification of BtAdVs circulating in bats from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We collected 382 oral and rectal swabs from 208 bats between 2014-2015 and 2020-2021 from São Paulo, Pernambuco, and Santa Catarina Brazilian states. The adenovirus detection was done by a nested PCR targeting the DNA polymerase gene, and all positive samples were sequenced by the Sanger method. The phylogenetic analyses were based on the amino acid sequences using the MEGA 7 and BEAST software. We obtained 16 positive animals (detection rate 7.7%) belonging to seven bat species: Artibeus lituratus, Carollia perspicillata, Sturnira lilium, Molossus molossus, and the first record of Phyllostomus discolor, Eptesicus diminutus, and Myotis riparius. The phylogenetic analysis based on partial amino acid sequences showed that all obtained AdV sequences belong to the Mastadenovirus genus. We observed a high genetic diversity of BtAdV and identified eleven potential BtAdV species circulating in Brazil (BtAdV K to U). Our results contribute to the epidemiological surveillance of adenovirus, increasing the knowledge about the viral diversity and the distribution of AdV in bats from the Atlantic Forest.