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. 2023 Feb 6;24(2):e56578.
doi: 10.15252/embr.202256578. Epub 2023 Jan 18.

Through an ecological lens: An ecosystem-based approach to zoonotic risk assessment: An ecosystem-based approach to zoonotic risk assessment

Mary E Petrone  1 , Edward C Holmes  1 , Erin Harvey  1
Affiliations

Through an ecological lens: An ecosystem-based approach to zoonotic risk assessment: An ecosystem-based approach to zoonotic risk assessment

Mary E Petrone et al. EMBO Rep. .

Abstract

Public health strategies to mitigate the emergence of novel pathogenic viruses should implement longitudinal metagenomic surveillance of ecosystems experiencing biodiversity changes to identify generalist viruses.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Virus emergence in an ecosystem context
Viruses are transmitted through interconnected ecosystems, which include humans. Hence, humans should not be placed at the end of a linear chain of emergence.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Generalist‐dominated ecosystems support fewer virus species compared to specialist‐dominated ecosystems
(A) A generalist‐dominated ecosystem comprising 10 virus species, which are transmitted between animals in the same class. Viruses in overlapping ecological niches compete for resources, limiting the total number of virus species that can be supported by this ecosystem. (B) A specialist‐dominated ecosystem comprising 16 virus species, none of which are transmitted between animal classes. Specialist viruses do not directly compete for resources.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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