Latest news with #EmilyDeRuyter
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Adorable Cat Helps Scientists Discover New Virus (For Second Time)
A pet cat in Florida may have made scientific history by enabling the discovery of not one but two new strains of viruses. The cat in question, called Pepper, is like many cats, in that he likes to bestow affection on his human companion with thoughtful gifts of dead animals (surprisingly, orcas do this too). So Pepper's owner, University of Florida virologist John Lednicky, decided to take advantage of these usually unwanted and morbid presents. Related: "This was an opportunistic study," says Lednicky. "If you come across a dead animal, why not test it instead of just burying it? There is a lot of information that can be gained." And sampling by cat has so far proven fruitful. When testing an Everglades short-tailed shrew (Blarina peninsulae) procured by Pepper, Lednicky and his colleagues discovered a previously unidentified orthoreovirus. Not much is known about these viruses, but they have, on rare occasions, been linked to stomach flu and meningitis in children. "Mammalian orthoreoviruses were originally considered to be 'orphan' viruses, present in mammals including humans, but not associated with diseases. More recently, they have been implicated in respiratory, central nervous system, and gastrointestinal disease," explains virologist Emily DeRuyter. "There are many different mammalian orthoreoviruses and not enough is known about this recently identified virus to be concerned." So DeRuyter, Lednicky, and colleagues published the sequenced genome of their cat-enabled discovery, to begin the process of better understanding these viruses. It's not the first time Pepper has pawed at science. Last year, the cat gifted Lednicky a mouse containing a jeilongvirus that had never been found in the US before. The strain, Gainesville rodent jeilongvirus 1, is concerningly capable of infecting primate cells, as well as the cells of other mammals. "[This suggests] the virus has a generalist nature with the potential for a spillover event," the researchers wrote in a 2024 paper describing the discovery. "The early detection of endemic viruses circulating within hosts in North-Central Florida can significantly enhance surveillance efforts, thereby bolstering our ability to monitor and respond to potential outbreaks effectively." As well as increasing our ability to detect and monitor a wider range of viruses, these findings also highlight the risks that can come with allowing cats to roam freely outside. A free-ranging cat can kill dozens of animals each year, creating more opportunities for diseases to jump between species. Recently, cats have been flagged as having potential to spread bird flu to their owners as well. Not that Pepper knows anything about any of that. The new virus genome was published in Microbiology Resource Announcements. Emergency Vaccines Reduce Disease Outbreak Deaths by Almost 60% Brain Abnormality in Modern Humans Linked to Ancient Neanderthal DNA One Piece of Advice to Parents Slashed Food Allergies in Children
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Pet cat helps discover a new virus
Pepper the cat is at it again. After his hunting skills helped virologists identify the first jeilongvirus in the United States, the virus-hunting feline has detected a new strain orthoreovirus. It helps that Pepper's owner is John Lednicky, a virologist at the University of Florida College of Public Health. Pepper caught an Everglades short-tailed shrew and Lednicky took the small mole-lake mammal into the lab for testing. Lednicky's research includes studying the mule deerpox virus, so he wanted to look at the shrew specimen for any clues to how this virus is transmitted among mammals. It turns out that the shrew had a strain of orthoreovirus. The viruses in this genus infect several mammal species, including white-tailed deer, bats, and humans. Their effects on humans are not very well understood, but there are rare reports that orthoreoviruses may be associated with cases of encephalitis, meningitis, and gastroenteritis in children. 'The bottom line is we need to pay attention to orthoreoviruses, and know how to rapidly detect them,' Lednicky said in a statement. [ Related: The deadliest viruses in human history, from COVID to smallpox. ] 'There are many different mammalian orthoreoviruses and not enough is known about this recently identified virus to be concerned,' study co-author and UF Ph.D. candidate Emily DeRuyter added. 'Mammalian orthoreoviruses were originally considered to be 'orphan' viruses, present in mammals including humans, but not associated with diseases. More recently, they have been implicated in respiratory, central nervous system and gastrointestinal diseases.' The complete genomic coding sequences for this new virus, officially named 'Gainesville shrew mammalian orthoreovirus type 3 strain UF-1,' was recently published in the journal Microbiology Resource Announcements. Importantly, Pepper has shown no signs of illness, according to Lednicky. 'This was an opportunistic study,' Lednicky said. 'If you come across a dead animal, why not test it instead of just burying it? There is a lot of information that can be gained.' In 2024, Pepper helped detect the first jeilongvirus in the US. He dropped a dead mouse on the carpet at Lednicky's feet, which was also taken into the lab for testing. Jeilongvirus was previously found in Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe. Unlike orthoreoviruses, it is known to infect more than just mammals, and can make reptiles, fish, and birds sick. It can also occasionally cause serious illness in humans. The virus in the mouse that Pepper found was genetically different from other jeilongviruses and is designated as 'Gainesville rodent jeilong virus 1.' According to Lednicky, it grows equally well in rodent, human, and nonhuman primate cells, 'making it a great candidate for a spillover event,' or when one virus spills from one species into another. The team also recently found two novel viruses in farmed white-tailed deer. Since viruses are constantly evolving and lab techniques have gotten more sophisticated, Lednicky said finding new viruses isn't entirely surprising. 'I'm not the first one to say this, but essentially, if you look, you'll find, and that's why we keep finding all these new viruses,' Lednicky said. [ Related: Finland finds its first giant virus. ] Two different types of orthoreovirus can infect a host cell, similar to influenza. This two-pronged infection essentially creates a new virus by mixing and matching the genes, according to Lednicky. In 2019, this same team isolated the first orthoreovirus found in a deer. That first strain's genes were nearly identical to an orthoreovirus detected in farmed mink in China and a very sick lion in Japan. Scientists were incredibly puzzled how the same hybrid virus could pop up in farmed deer in Florida and two carnivore species thousands of miles away. Some speculated that components of the animals' feed may have come from the same manufacturer. More research is needed to fully understand how orthoreoviruses move around and are transmitted, their prevalence in humans, and how sick they could make people. Future serology and immunology studies could help the team better understand the threat of orthoreoviruses including the one a black cat helped scientists find.
