Publications

Diverse anelloviruses identified in wild geladas (Theropithecus gelada)

Arch Virol. 2026 Jun 4;171(7):199. doi: 10.1007/s00705-026-06651-z.ABSTRACTAnelloviruses are circular single stranded DNA viruses that are highly prevalent among humans and other mammal and avian hosts, with persistent infections enduring throughout the lifespan without causing disease. Investigating these viruses in non-human primate hosts can offer a phylogenetic perspective on anellovirus-primate evolutionary dynamics, and studying wild populations … Read more

Genomic Diversity of Vaginal Lactobacillus crispatus Prophages from South African Women

Viruses. 2026 Apr 30;18(5):519. doi: 10.3390/v18050519. ABSTRACT Lactobacillus crispatus is widely associated with optimal sexual and reproductive health outcomes. While L. crispatus genomes commonly harbor prophages, little is known about their genomic diversity and potential inducibility by clinically relevant compounds. We induced and characterized four bacteriophages from four L. crispatus strains isolated from vaginal secretions … Read more

Mammal-infecting DNA viruses identified in lemurs and rodents in Madagascar mirror the evolutionary history of their hosts

Microb Genom. 2026 May;12(5). doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001728. ABSTRACT Given that some DNA viruses have been found to exhibit virus-host co-evolution and establish lifelong infection, mammals with unique evolutionary histories in island ecosystems likely host exceptionally diverse viruses. Madagascar is inhabited by endemic non-human primate and rodent lineages interacting with expansive populations of introduced non-native rodents across … Read more

ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Anelloviridae 2026

J Gen Virol. 2026 Mar;107(3):002222. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.002222. ABSTRACT The family Anelloviridae includes viruses with circular, negative-sense, ssDNA genomes of 1.7-3.9 kb. Anelloviruses form non-enveloped icosahedral virions constructed of the ORF1 protein, which adopts the single jelly-roll structural fold. Anelloviruses have been isolated from a broad range of birds and mammals, including humans, but are not … Read more

Complete mitochondrial DNA sequences of Eliurus webbi and Eliurus minor, endemic tufted-tailed rats in Madagascar

Mitochondrial DNA B Resour. 2026 Mar 23;11(4):561-566. doi: 10.1080/23802359.2026.2638673. eCollection 2026. ABSTRACT The Webb’s tufted-tailed rat (Eliurus webbi) and the lesser tufted-tailed rat (Eliurus minor) are nocturnal and primarily arboreal rodents native to Madagascar, classified in the subfamily Nesomyinae. After species confirmation using cytochrome b, we assembled the first complete mitogenomes of E. webbi (n … Read more

Campus-based genomic surveillance uncovers early emergence of a future dominant A(H3N2) influenza clade

iScience. 2025 Nov 4;28(12):113941. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113941. eCollection 2025 Dec 19. ABSTRACT We conducted genomic surveillance during the 2022-2023 northern hemisphere influenza season at a university in the southwestern US to assess how local diversity and evolution compared to national trends. We identified 100 positive samples (19%) from clinical swabs collected at a student health clinic … Read more

Early-life infection dynamics and genomic diversity of adenoviruses in a wild primate (Theropithecus gelada)

Microb Genom. 2025 Dec;11(12):001595. doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001595. ABSTRACT In humans, adenoviruses (AdVs) are frequently associated with respiratory illnesses, posing risks to children with developing immune systems and immunocompromised individuals. Outbreaks and epidemics are generally centred in close-contact settings, such as childcare facilities, and transmission occurs through faecal-oral and airborne pathways. AdVs have coevolved across the primate … Read more

Novel circoviruses identified in short-finned pilot whale and orca from the North Atlantic Ocean

Virology. 2026 Feb;615:110768. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2025.110768. Epub 2025 Dec 5. ABSTRACT The family Circoviridae comprises viruses with small single-stranded DNA genomes that are known to infect various animals, resulting in considerable morbidity and mortality in some hosts. Circoviruses have been recently identified through metagenomic sequencing in diverse terrestrial vertebrate species, but their distribution and diversity in … Read more

Population ecology and biogeochemical implications of ssDNA and dsDNA viruses along a permafrost thaw gradient

Nat Commun. 2025 Dec 11;17(1):375. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-67057-0. ABSTRACT Anthropogenic-driven climate change is accelerating permafrost thaw, threatening to release vast carbon stores through increased microbial activity. While microbial roles are increasingly studied, the contributions of viruses remain largely unexplored, in part due to soil-associated technical challenges that have hindered their detection and characterization. Here, we applied … Read more

Canine Parvovirus and Vaccine-Origin Feline Panleukopenia Virus in Wastewater, Arizona, USA: July 2022-June 2023

Microorganisms. 2025 Sep 11;13(9):2124. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms13092124. ABSTRACT Canine parvovirus (CPV) is a virus of veterinary health significance and a member of the Parvoviridae family. Despite its clinical significance and global distribution, surveillance is often limited to cases serious enough to result in veterinary visit and/or hospitalization, thereby limiting our understanding of its evolution and diversity. … Read more

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