Demographic and zoological drivers of infectome diversity in companion cats with ascites.
Yan-Kuo SunJiabao XingSijia XuYue LiJianhao ZhongHan GaoSong ChengJun DongTianyou ZhangGang LuGuy BaeleGui-Hong ZhangPublished in: mSystems (2024)
first characterizing infection in diseased cats. Most feline diseases were better explained by the presence of virus-bacteria or virus-virus coinfection. The increase in infectome diversity could be influenced by a variety of predictors including age growth, temperature increase, and a higher proportion of females. A higher diversity of pathogens was harbored in young cats rather than adults. Importantly, we showed the value of linking the modern influx of meta-transcriptomics with comparative ecology and demography and of utilizing it to affirm that ecological and demographic variations impact the total infectome.